Pandora's Senshi
by mew-tsubaki
Summary: AU OC. The royal trio's gone and Saturn and Pluto aren't around to fix things. What happens to an Earth that's gone all wrong? It'll be destroyed, of course. This is the armageddon story of the year, and chapter 10's up! We're nearing the end, folks!
1. The Beginning

**Pandora's Senshi**

A Sailor Moon Spin-off Fanfiction

By mew-tsubaki

Note: Ha-HA! This time, I have copyright power over these characters because their MY OWN! (Woo-hoo!) Anyway, I want to give some credit to Naoko Takeuchi-sensei, though, because I used the original names she had planned for the Sailor Moon characters (Sorano Hikaru, Yoruno Miyabi, Chino Mamoru, and Artemis; only Amano is hers- I came up with Kako), and the original scouts (Moon through Saturn) are hers. By the way, I know that the senshi names (Phlegethon, Colytus, Styx, Acheron, and Lethe) come from rivers in Hades (I read it somewhere) and have nothing to do with Pandora's box, but read on to discover what they're really about. - Don't forget: READ, REVIEW, AND ENJOY! P.S.- the Artemis in this fanfic isn't the same as the cat-turned-human Artemis from the original series. She's someone completely different.

Chapter One: In the Beginning

It was the end of the century, and the people of Earth had received a terrible New Year's Gift. Their great Neo Queen Serenity and King Endymion had passed on without notice. Then the Princess Lady Serenity disappeared, and Earth was left without a ruler, so it returned to its ways from before the Crystal Age. It returned to the time when everyone lived life as best they could, with no protection from evil beings and hatred and such.

And so history repeated. At least, that's what the other senshi assumed, but the only senshi left were Venus, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Uranus, and Neptune. Saturn had vanished suddenly months before, and no one had bothered to look for Pluto for a while, but when they looked for her, they discovered her post at the Gate of Time to be abandoned. The Time Key, sans the Garnet Orb, had been wedged into the Gate's handles so it could never be opened again. For the most part, the other senshi, now that they had little protection, stayed away from Earth. They knew it would be too dangerous to go down to Earth again without enough power since they had lost most of it from way back when, so they stopped communications and trips to the planet, and, eventually, they forgot about it, as did the people of Earth with them.

Now it's the beginning of the thirty-first century and Earth has once again been led astray from its correct flow of events. But there is no Saturn to drop her Silence Glaive. There is no Pluto to stop time so the queen or princess could fix things. There is no queen and princess to fix things even if Pluto _had_ stopped time. In a world with a history that's gone awry, who can save the planet from sheer and utter destruction? Only the ones who must destroy it first…

The fire blazed fiercely as the violet-haired woman concentrated and threw ash into it. It engulfed the ash hungrily and struck out as if it wanted more.

Suddenly, she opened her eyes and frowned. She touched her hair and blew on it as she realized it was singed. "Damn! Not again!" Sighing, she stood up and walked out of the reading room. The woman leaned against the sliding door and stared into the setting sun. It was a blood red sunset, and the woman knew her reading was telling the truth. It would happen…

"Rei-chan!"

The woman seemed startled. Rei looked behind her and saw two figures appear, but they were two people she loved dearly. There was the taller, green-eyed brunette who was the tomboy of their group. Then there was the smaller, more fragile blue-eyed, blue-haired fem who was smartest person out there. Both approached Rei and joined her as she turned back to the sunset.

"How did your reading go?" the brunette asked.

"Well, it wasn't foggy at all this time, Mako-chan, but…" Rei hung her head.

"What's the matter?" the blue-haired woman asked of the priestess.

"That's the problem. I got a perfectly clear reading this time, but the outcome wasn't good at all. The end is nearing again for Earth."

Mako-chan looked startled. "But that's impossible!" She turned to the blue-haired woman. "Right, Ami-chan?" Her voice wavered for a moment before she could answer.

Ami-chan looked distraught. "Well… Way back, I read in one of the palace's books about the last senshi."

Rei-chan nodded. "I've only seen or heard of them in my divinations, but they do exist."

"Who?" Mako-chan asked.

"The last senshi. There names are unknown, but their power is unbelievable. It is said that if there is a time when the world is taken off course, and Saturn does not have her powers or is not here, then the last senshi will be awakened."

Mako-chan gulped. "When you say last senshi, do you really mean…?"

"Yes. They are the last senshi. Forever. But their unbelievable power… It rivals even Saturn's Death Reborn Revolution." All three women went quiet. None of them knew what to say. They had ridded themselves of all the troubles and dangers of Earth a long while ago, and so they felt they weren't much connected with the planet anymore.

"So what do we do now?" Mako-chan asked.

"It's not our problem anymore," Rei-chan replied. "Our duty now is be to protect and rule our home kingdoms the way we were meant to. Our calling is to be queen now- nothing more."

Both Ami-chan and Mako-chan hugged Rei and disappeared back to their own palaces. The violet-haired woman leaned against the sliding door to her reading room again and faintly smiled to herself. _It's not our problem anymore…_


	2. Chino Mamoru

**Pandora's Senshi**

A Sailor Moon Spin-off Fanfiction

By mew-tsubaki

Note: Ha-HA! This time, I have copyright power over these characters because their MY OWN! (Woo-hoo!) Anyway, I want to give some credit to Naoko Takeuchi-sensei, though, because I used the original names she had planned for the Sailor Moon characters (Sorano Hikaru, Yoruno Miyabi, Chino Mamoru, and Artemis; only Amano is hers- I came up with Kako), and the original scouts (Moon through Saturn) are hers. By the way, I know that the senshi names (Phlegethon, Colytus, Styx, Acheron, and Lethe) come from rivers in Hades (I read it somewhere) and have nothing to do with Pandora's Box, but read on to discover what they're really about. - Don't forget: READ, REVIEW, AND ENJOY! P.S.- the Artemis in this fanfic isn't the same as the cat-turned-human Artemis from the original series. She's someone completely different. Also, the other senshi will not be making anymore appearances. It's original from here on out.

Chapter Two: Chino Mamoru a.k.a. Sailor Phlegethon

The dull-brunette brush back her messy mane and sighed as she looked out the window. "Another D again…" She clutched her status report from her math teacher and felt her anger at herself rising. _I can't ever get a decent grade in math!_ She sighed and sipped her diet coke noisily as the rain came down hard outside the restaurant. "If only I could get away from all of this…" The girl fumbled with the contents of her school bag and fished out a folded piece of paper. "Another writing contest lost… No one likes quality stuff anymore!" She angrily crumpled the paper up and threw it onto her food tray. Silently, she stared at it. _What's the use anymore?_ The girl folded her arms and sighed as she buried her head in them. _If I could only write for a living like her…_

"Uh, excuse me, miss," the waitress said. "We're closing early today. Would you mind if I brought the check to you now?"

The taupe-haired girl shook her head and dug out a twenty and passed it to the waitress. "I know how much it is. I always get the same thing. Keep the change this time, though." She stood and gathered her bag and left, making sure she didn't leave anything first.

"She's not usually like that," the waitress commented to herself. She shook her head and cleared the table to prepare for another customer.

"Chino Mamoru. Seventeen and an aspiring writer…who everyone thinks writes like crap!" The girl stomped her foot down on the ground. "Damn it all!" Mamoru hung her head as she walked home. "I feel like crying, but…what's the use if there's no one to console me…?"

Mamoru stepped into her apartment building's elevator and rode it to the top floor. It dinged and she got off and headed to apartment number 104. She dug out her key and unlocked the door, only to be welcomed home by utter silence. She faintly smiled to herself. "They leave me here with the whole apartment to myself and I come home to no one. Great."

She tossed her bag on the couch and got another soda from her fridge. _How many years has it been? Five or six or so? Both Mom and Dad just up and split, not to mention up and left. Even if they did leave me the apartment…_ "The city's too friggin' loud for me! I want to get away!"

The dull-brunette flopped down on her bed after shutting the door to her room. _People always run away from me,_ she thought. _When will I get the chance to do it to them?_ Slowly, Mamoru drifted out of her thoughts and into a deep sleep and forgot her anger for that day, but it would only come back in the morning.

"Good morning!" Mamoru said to a few of her passing classmates. The two girls glanced at her over their shoulders and walked faster than they had before they had seen her. "Stupid…," Mamoru muttered under her breath. She grasped the handle of her bag and swung it over her shoulder, depicting the gang member-like image all of her classmates saw her in.

"You should probably learn to keep your voice down, Chino-san," a voice said from behind her. Mamoru looked behind her and saw her favorite teacher, Shiro-sensei, approach her.

"Y-yes!" Mamoru stuttered. She blushed to herself a little as he smiled at her. Shiro-sensei was not only the teacher of her favorite class, literature, but he was also the youngest of the teachers, at age twenty (Mamoru also thought of him as the best-looking out of all of them, too). He carried himself with a confident air that made her feel like she could do anything around him, and she liked that- a lot.

"I'll see you in class later, Mamoru-chan!" he whispered to her as he passed her. And then he disappeared into the building.

"Takeyuki…" Mamoru, blushing, shook her head to clear her thoughts. _I can't call him Takeyuki, no matter how much I want to! Or how much I like him…_ Sadly, Mamoru hung her head again and went in her school.

"That's all. You may be dismissed."

The classroom was buzzing with the usual noise that comes at the end of the day. People were packing up and visiting each other at their desks. Mamoru, however, did not have any visitors.

"That's just great. Everyone is seeing their friends at the end of the day, and what about me? I have no friends!" she mumbled angrily to herself. She slammed her bag on her desk, stood, and exited the classroom for the last time that day. "I hate the city!"

As she trudged out of the building, she didn't see where she was exactly going, and she ran into someone.

"Oof!" Mamoru fell on her butt, but she quickly scrambled to her feet. "Oh my god! I didn't see you! Are you all right!"

"I'm fine! Fine!" The pink-haired girl before Mamoru scrambled to her feet, as well, and picked up her things and dashed off.

"Jeez… She didn't even really say anything to me." Mamoru watched as the girl disappeared in the direction opposite her, but shrugged the thought off. She collected her things, too, and went home.

Mamoru was walking home by herself as she thought of the weekend ahead of her. "Nothing to do, I guess, except to write and watch movies. Oh, well." Little droplets of rain stained Mamoru's gray uniform and hat. _Rain again…_

"That's it! Now you've got me pissed!"

The taupe-haired girl looked again and saw a fight break out between two men, both carrying knives. _Yikes! I should get out of here before they see me!_ Mamoru turned to run, but it was too late; both men had seen her. _I'm done for!_

"Where do you think you're going!" the other man shouted at her. Both hulks approached her, knives ready at their sides.

_Crap!_ Just then, a bright light immerged from the space in-between Mamoru and the two men, and a brooch appeared. _What is that!_ Mamoru thought. She looked at the men and realized that they were hurt by the energy the brooch was emitting, so she grabbed the brooch, even though she was unsure about the item.

Countless ribbons of light streamed out of the brooch as soon as Mamoru's fingertips touched it, and she drew her hand away when it did that.

Suddenly, Mamoru heard words echoing in her head. "Ph-Phlegethon Rage Fulfillment!" At once, the lights engulfed Mamoru, and the girl felt power surging through her. _Th-this power!_ The lights faded and Mamoru floated to the ground.

**_CLACK._**

"In Hades, the Phlegethon River brings out the rage in lost souls. To free those souls and turn them to destruction by the angry earth- that is my mission! Sailor Phlegethon!"

Mamoru was amazed at what the brooch had done. It had turned her into some sort of…crime-fighter! She looked herself up and down. "Wh-what is this! Some sort of cosplay costume! And I called myself what!" The girl faced the two men and was frightened; they were coming right at her! "What do I do!"

The look in both of the guys' eyes was different from that of someone who was just 'pissed'. The faces were twisted!

Suddenly, the brooch (which was fastened to the front mahogany bow on Mamoru's chest) started glowing again, and it shot a beam of light out to the men. Mamoru saw that behind them was a distorted shadow with what looked like something living in it. "That can't be good…," Mamoru muttered to herself, but she heard words forming in her head again. "What the…! Not again!" But the words echoed in her head and Mamoru finally said them. Extending her hand in front of her, palm facing both men, she shouted, "Phlegethon Rage Embodiment!"

At once, a powerful beam surged through Mamoru and shot out of her hand and into the men's shadows. Suddenly, their shadows exploded! The men fell onto the ground, barely alive, but breathing still.

Mamoru knelt down and checked on them. "They look different…" She checked their shadows. "Their back to normal!" She breathed a sigh of relief. _They seemed way too malevolent for normal anger. Something's not right, but…somehow, I have the power to fix it. As Sailor Phlegethon, of course._ Without knowing it, Mamoru transformed back from being Sailor Phlegethon to her normal self. Behind her, she heard notebooks drop. Quickly, she glanced over her shoulder and saw the same pink-haired girl that she had bumped into before. _Crap!_

Mamoru stood and moved to speak to the girl, but the girl grabbed her things and ran before anything could be said.

"Now I really _am_ an outcast… Damn!" The dull-brunette grabbed her bag and headed home, worrying that this new secret she just developed would be leaked.

"AAH! It's not here!"

Mamoru tossed things out of her bag left and right, ending up eventually dumping the contents of her bag all over her living room floor. It was the messiest the entire apartment had been in a while.

"It's gone!" she exhaled. _I had just started that story, too. Now I've lost it! How will I ever finish writing it!_ Just then, she remembered the pink-haired girl from before. _Of course! Her! She must have picked it up when it got mixed into her things when I ran into her. But-! _"How do I find her again?" Mamoru thought hard for a few minutes, trying to remember any details she could use to find the girl. Finally, she remembered the girl's uniform. "It was the same as my uniform! She goes to the same school as me!" She breathed another sigh of relief. _I can find her tomorrow and ask if I can have it back…_

Then horror struck. _What if she read it? She'll probably think it was bad like everyone else…_ "What am I gonna do if that's the case? She has my latest novel _and_ saw me as Sailor Phlegethon…"


	3. Amano Kako

**Pandora's Senshi**

A Sailor Moon Spin-off Fanfiction

By mew-tsubaki

Note: Ha-HA! This time, I have copyright power over these characters because their MY OWN! (Woo-hoo!) Anyway, I want to give some credit to Naoko Takeuchi-sensei, though, because I used the original names she had planned for the Sailor Moon characters (Sorano Hikaru, Yoruno Miyabi, Chino Mamoru, and Artemis; only Amano is hers- I came up with Kako), and the original scouts (Moon through Saturn) are hers. By the way, I know that the senshi names (Phlegethon, Colytus, Styx, Acheron, and Lethe) come from rivers in Hades (I read it somewhere) and have nothing to do with Pandora's Box, but read on to discover what they're really about. - Don't forget: READ, REVIEW, AND ENJOY! P.S.- the Artemis in this fanfic isn't the same as the cat-turned-human Artemis from the original series. She's someone completely different. Also, the other senshi will not be making anymore appearances. It's original from here on out.

Chapter Three: Amano Kako a.k.a. Sailor Lethe

"Thanks for breakfast! See you later!" The girl dashed out of the house with her school bag in hand.

"Why does she think she can run and make her pigtails at the same time?" the girl's father asked himself. He sighed. "As long as Kako can stay strong without Mama around anymore…"

"Hi, Kako-chan!"

"Good morning, Amano-san!"

"Hey, Kako-chan!"

The girl with pink pigtails smiled at everyone. "Hi!" She walked in Azusa Yomi Municipal High as the other students watched her. _It's kind of hard to be popular,_ she thought. _Now if I could only get the good grades Dad wants to see in math, grammar, history, and gym. Boy, do I hate those subjects!_

Ahead of Kako was a rather large group assembled in front of one of the message boards. _The mock-exam results must be posted._

"She did it again!"

"Yeah. I can't believe it!"

"She uses all of her time to study… I heard that her family is even used to it!"

Kako looked over her shoulder and saw the girl who they were talking about. She was a slender girl who wasn't really the bookworm type, but all of her grades were pretty much perfect. With hazel hair and clear, light blue eyes, the genius girl, Sorano Hikaru, was more of the popular type like Kako, but she read a lot and stayed away from people, so it was easy to see why people didn't like her much.

_If I could only ask her to help me study…,_ Kako thought. She sighed and went into her classroom. "Oh, well."

"All right! Lunchtime!"

"Kako, you sure do love your food, don't you?" one of Kako's classmates asked her.

"It's the best time of the day!" Kako grabbed her bento and a notebook from her bag and was halfway out of the classroom when one of her classmates stopped her.

"Where are you going?"

"Oh, I'm going to go eat by myself on the roof. I have something I want to do." And then she left.

"She's always like that," one of the other girls said.

"Yeah, but that wasn't her sketchbook she took with her. It was something else."

"Not her sketchbook? That's so weird…"

"Let's see… I was on chapter fifteen…" Kako sat Indian-style as she leaned against the railing on the school roof. She opened the notebook on her lap and began reading as she happily munched on her onigiri (rice ball). She sat reading and eating, for a while. Finally, a breeze blew by and forced Kako to pause for a moment to brush her hair out of her face. _Thank god I can get away from everyone once in a while. Putting up a face is…hard._ The freshman looked over her shoulder at the cityscape below. _I just wish I could trust someone…_

"AAH! MY NOVEL!"

Kako looked up to see a tall girl run towards her. She recognized her as the one who had transformed in front of her. Quickly, Kako packed up her lunch and stumbled to her feet, but she had bad timing. The girl was too close now for Kako to be able to make a quick escape, so she crumpled backwards towards the railing.

"I'm sorry," the taupe-haired girl said. "I hope I didn't scare you. I think I lost my novel when I bumped into you and I can see that you have it." The girl ran her hand through her hair. "Can I have it back?"

"Oh, I-I'm sorry." Kako fumbled with the notebook, but gave it back to the girl. "I was meaning to give it back to you after I had finished it."

"Actually," the girl mumbled, "it's not done yet. I only started it recently."

"Really? It's quite good. Have you ever considered entering a contest or something?"

"Yeah, I have, but no one likes my stuff…"

"I like it a lot. The character development progresses at a great rate. Not exactly slow, but not too fast, either." Kako smiled at the girl. "I'm Amano Kako. What's your name?"

"Oh! I-I'm Chino Mamoru." Mamoru was silent for a moment. "So, you really like it?"

"The story's really good. When are you going to finish it?"

"I haven't really decided yet…" There was an odd pause between the two, seeing as how neither of them could really figure out anything to say.

"Uh, well…," Kako began, heading for the door, "I've gotta go! See you around!" She turned to leave, but Mamoru caught her arm.

"Look," Mamoru started, "I know you saw me yesterday."

Kako froze. What would Mamoru do to her!

"Honestly, I had no idea what I was doing. I am just as scared as you were when you saw me. Please, don't be afraid of me." The look in Mamoru's eyes wasn't necessarily hurt, but something more like…longing. "I don't have any friends, so I hope you weren't completely freaked when you saw me…transform." The girl hung her head as she clutched the notebook to her chest.

Kako thought for a moment. _It wasn't really being scared so much as it was startled, _she thought. She put on a bright smile. "I thought it was kind of cool, actually. How'd did you do it?" she asked Mamoru.

Mamoru looked up in surprise. "What?"

The pink-haired shrimp held out her hand. "Friends?"

"Y-yeah…" Mamoru shook Kako's hand and felt like some of the weight of the world had been lifted off her shoulders. She had…made a friend!

"So that means you'll be working extra-hard on the novel, right, Mamoru?" Kako urged.

"Y-yeah…"

"See you guys later!" Kako grabbed her jacket and was halfway out of the classroom when the same classmate stopped her.

"Kako, where're you going? Don't you usually stay for art club?" the girl asked worriedly.

"Could you tell sensei that I can't make it today? I'm going over to a friend's house. Tell her I'll make it up to her, I promise!" Kako waved good-bye once more and left the building.

"Missing ART CLUB! Kako must've hit her head!"

"So what's your house like?" Kako asked.

Mamoru blushed. "It's not much… I live in an apartment complex by myself, but I manage." She kept on walking until she realized that she was walking by herself. She turned around. "Kako…?"

The girl's eyes were wide. "You live by yourself! And you MANAGE! That's so mysterious! Cool!" Kako joined Mamoru once again.

"It's not all that cool, though…" Mamoru drifted off into thought for a moment when she realized that they were in front of the building. "Oh! H-here we are!"

The only thing Kako could say was "Wow…" as they walked in through the main lobby. _It's less than a penthouse, _Kako thought, _but way more than an apartment!_

The two went up the elevator to the top floor and headed straight for Mamoru's room. When Mamoru opened the door, Kako was shocked: no one was there!

"You really meant you live by yourself…," Kako mumbled. Mamoru merely nodded. "Do you have any family?"

Mamoru put her things on the couch and grabbed (you guessed it!) a soda. "Yes, but my parents are divorced and currently on separate ends of the Earth." She feigned a smile, but her new friend could tell it was fake. "Do you want something to eat?" she asked. "I can't cook much, but I have snacks like Pocky."

"Pocky sounds great!"

The taupe-haired girl grabbed a box and showed Kako around. There was the living room with the couch, a coffee table, a TV, and a PS2 (slim version); the bathroom; her parents room which had remained untouched for years; the kitchen with a counter that also served as the dining room table; and Mamoru's room, with her single bed, a closet, a desk, and chair.

"There's not a lot of décor in the whole place," Kako thought aloud.

Mamoru scratched her head. "Never thought it'd do much good, so I've never dealt with it."

Suddenly, an idea popped into Kako's head. "I know! I can draw you anime posters to decorate your room with! You _do_ like anime, don't you?"

"Of course!" Mamoru looked in Kako's eyes while there was a long pause.

"Tokyo Mew Mew!" they said in unison- another pause. "Kamikaze Kaito Jeanne! Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch!"

Both broke out in laughter as they rolled around on the carpet. "That's too funny!" Kako said between giggles. "We watch exactly the same things!"

Mamoru sighed happily as she stood and went to her closet. "Yeah… I watch a lot of shoujo, so it helps me when I go to write my stories." She opened the closet to reveal a HUGE stack of notebooks, all full with her handwriting. "I have a lot of time on my hands, as you can see."

Kako's eyes went even wider than before. "You…wrote all of those?" she asked quietly.

"Yeah. Not much I like to do."

The freshman jumped up from the floor and ran to the closet, skimming each notebook.

"Wh-what are you doing!" Mamoru asked.

"I'm deciding which ones I'll want to read right now." Kako looked Mamoru in the eye. "So you can finish the other one I had already started. Think of me as a fan, not a critic." She smiled and Mamoru felt relaxed.

"Well, I guess since you already started the story, and because it's only you, it's okay."

"Yes! SCORE!"

"It's getting late," Mamoru said after she looked at the clock. It was ten o'clock. The girls had spent the whole day watching anime, reading manga, Kako reading Mamoru's stories, and Mamoru working on Kako's favorite story. "Don't you think you should call your parents? They'll be worried about you."

Kako paused rereading Tokyo Mew Mew A La Mode volume two, but she didn't look up from the book. "Dad'll be fine with me sleeping over. It's just him and me, so he won't mind."

"Oh, I'm sorry. When did she pass away?"

"Last year." Kako glanced at Mamoru. "Don't worry. I'm holding up fine."

"Whatever you say… I'll get you the phone so you can let him know. I think I have some pajamas you can borrow. Look in my closet for the smallest set. I think only those'll fit you."

Kako found the pjs and changed while Mamoru hunted for the phone. Soon, both were exhausted and spread out on the living room floor, both fast asleep and dreaming of the weekend.

"What do you want for breakfast?"

Kako rolled over and lazily opened her eyes. "Breakfast? Oh, uh…" Her eyelids were so heavy and a pillow was right by her head…

"Kako!" Mamoru shook her awake. "Stay awake! It's the weekend!"

"All right, all right… Do you like waffles?"

"Sure, but I don't have any mixes or anything."

"That's okay. I know this place that has the best waffles around." Kako grabbed her clothes and changed in the bathroom. When she came back out, Mamoru was ready to go, too.

As they headed out the door, Mamoru turned to Kako. "What place do you have in mind? I don't have a lot of extra pocket money right now since I haven't gotten my paycheck yet, so we probably shouldn't go somewhere too fancy."

"Let me worry about breakfast," Kako stated, yawning halfway through her sentence.

Mamoru shrugged, but when they approached a really ritzy-looking restaurant, she hesitated. "A-are you sure this is all right?"

The pink-haired shrimp ignored her friend's question and just entered the place while Mamoru followed closely behind. Someone held the door open for them and, when Kako showed up to the hostess, she was welcomed with a, "Hello, Amano-san. Please, this way."

The blonde hostess led them into the back to a private table and seated both girls. Soon, she left with Kako's order of "the usual".

Mamoru couldn't hold it in anymore. "How do you know this place?"

Kako smiled. "My father and I are regulars here, so we always have a table ready for us whenever we walk in the door. You'll love their homemade waffles, though."

"O-okay…"

"These are delicious!" Mamoru dug right in when their food was brought. She and Kako ate at a moderate pace and were soon heading out the door just as fast as they had come. "That was amazing!"

"It's not much…" Kako fell silent for a brief moment, but Mamoru didn't notice. "Want to go shopping?"

"Sure!" The two were on their way to the stores in town when they saw a large crowd ahead of them. "Oh, that's right. Namajima Ayu is doing a book signing and interview today."

"Namajima Ayu?" Kako thought for a moment. "Isn't she that famous author?"

"Famous author? She's much more. She's penned over seventy books in her whole ten year career! She's amazing!"

"She's your idol, isn't she, Mamoru?"

The taupe-haired girl froze. "UH! Well, I have to say- I- Well, um…"

"You should go meet her," Kako urged.

"N-not today!" Mamoru turned away from the crowd and took her shortcut down an empty street.

The shrimp caught up with her. "Why not? Maybe she could give you advice or you could show her one of your stories."

"I'd rather not." There was a firmness in Mamoru's voice that Kako understood was the signal to stop bugging her about it. Both continued further down the street, but the end was nowhere in sight. "What the…?" The taupe-haired girl looked all around her. "Where's the end of the street!"

Kako was shaking. "Is it possible we missed the turn?"

Mamoru shook her head. "This street is straight. There aren't any bends or turns in it." Suddenly, she tensed. _Something's not right._

**_CLINK. CA-CLUNK, CLUNK._**

Both girls looked up and saw a woman with a bloody butcher's knife in her hand, dragging a body behind her. She scanned the girls' eyes. "He was such a nuisance," the woman said in a strange voice, an eerie smile creeping onto her face, "I only gave him what he deserved… You won't tell on me will you?"

There was a flash of light and the brooch from the other day appeared in front of Mamoru. "This is…"

"Transform already!" Kako yelled at her.

"Uh, right! Phlegethon Rage Fulfillment!" Again, lights enveloped Mamoru and she became Sailor Phlegethon. "In Hades, the Phlegethon River brings out the rage in lost souls. To free those souls and turn them to destruction by the angry earth- that is my mission! Sailor Phlegethon!"

"It's about time already!" Kako hollered.

"Sailor…Phlegethon?" the woman said.

Sailor Phlegethon stood straight and stretched out her hand. "Phlegethon Rage Embodiment!"

The attack came from deep within Phlegethon and it surged through her arm and shot out of her hand. But the woman dodged it! "Don't think I'm some pushover!" the woman screamed.

Sailor Phlegethon tried her attack several more times, but it was no use. Every time she blasted, the possessed woman would sidestep the attack. Finally, Phlegethon fell to her knees. "It's no good!" she panted. "I've used up too much power trying to hit her."

"Hit the woman?" Kako echoed. "Are you nuts! You could kill her!"

Phlegethon shook her head. "I won't, but the thing living in her shadow would disappear. Take a look; you can see it from where you're standing."

Unsure, Kako did as Sailor Phlegethon suggested and saw a bright pair of shining eyes in the woman's shadow. _It's just as she said!_ Kako thought in horror. _There's something there._ The pink-haired shrimp felt something deep within her. Her eyes glazed over. "Maybe it's not something you can take care of," Kako said without realizing it.

Phlegethon blinked. "What? Kako, did you just say-"

There was an amethyst light and an ice cold breeze as Phlegethon saw a brooch-shaped item appear in front of Kako.

"No! Don't touch it! If you do, you'll-"

But it was too late. Kako unwillingly, absentmindedly, reached for the brooch. There was another flash of light and the ice cold wind enveloped Kako. A moment's later and the wind was gone- Kako along with it.

Phlegethon felt her stomach steel. "K-Kako…?" Her rough voice was barely above a hoarse whisper.

"Take one sip of the waters of the Lethe River from Hades, and you are bound to become a mindless servant. To bring about destruction through forgetfulness and rebirth with the bewildering air- that is my mission! Sailor Lethe!"

"Another 'Sailor', is it?" the woman asked. "Never mind that! I'll get rid of both of you right here, right now!" The woman lunged forward, but Lethe stood still.

"What are you doing!" Phlegethon screamed. "Make a move or get killed!"

Suddenly, there was a thump. The taupe-haired sailor looked over her shoulder and saw the form of the woman crumpled up on the ground in a heap. The woman was deathly still, but breathing nonetheless. Her shadow was also back to normal.

Phlegethon turned back to Lethe. "But, how did you…?"

Lethe smiled. "I spread my attack all around through the air. Didn't you hear me say, 'Lethe Forgetfulness Quintessence'?"

"No," Phlegethon answered as she stood up. She clutched her brooch and became Mamoru once again.

"So that's how you do that." Lethe did the same to transform back into Kako. "Well, that was fun!"

"FUN! You made me think for a split-second that you were going to get killed!" Mamoru picked up her purse and turned around. "Let's go!"

"Sorry!"

"So, what do you make of all of this?" Kako asked Mamoru as they stared out the window in the school hallway. The rest of the weekend had been uneventful save for Lethe's introduction and a week had passed since then already.

"I don't know," Mamoru mumbled, her mind wandering to her past when she saw Shiro-sensei run out of the building and into the rain. "I really don't know…"

Kako watched her friend gaze longingly at their youngest teacher. _Did something bad happen in class?_ Kako thought. _No, that couldn't be it. By the look in her eye, it's something else…_ "Mamoru?"

Mamoru stopped leaning against the windowsill and turned away from Kako. "I'm sorry, but I'm not in much of a mood to talk right now." She glanced over her shoulder as she walked away from Kako. "I'll see you tomorrow, Kako-chan!" And with that, she was gone.

"Yeah…"


	4. Sorano Hikaru

**Pandora's Senshi**

A Sailor Moon Spin-off Fanfiction

By mew-tsubaki

Note: Ha-HA! This time, I have copyright power over these characters because their MY OWN! (Woo-hoo!) Anyway, I want to give some credit to Naoko Takeuchi-sensei, though, because I used the original names she had planned for the Sailor Moon characters (Sorano Hikaru, Yoruno Miyabi, Chino Mamoru, and Artemis; only Amano is hers- I came up with Kako), and the original scouts (Moon through Saturn) are hers. By the way, I know that the senshi names (Phlegethon, Colytus, Styx, Acheron, and Lethe) come from rivers in Hades (I read it somewhere) and have nothing to do with Pandora's Box, but read on to discover what they're really about. - Don't forget: READ, REVIEW, AND ENJOY! P.S.- the Artemis in this fanfic isn't the same as the cat-turned-human Artemis from the original series. She's someone completely different. Also, the other senshi will not be making anymore appearances. It's original from here on out.

Chapter Four: Sorano Hikaru a.k.a. Sailor Acheron

"She did it again!"

"No way!"

"Let me see!"

A horde of Azusa Yomi Municipal High School students crowded around the mock exam results for the latest test. Multiple pairs of eyes scanned the list of top students, but all eyes flew to the first name listed.

"Oh my God! They're right!"

"Sorano-san is amazing!"

Mamoru picked her head up. "What's all that noise outside?" she thought aloud as she closed her book.

Takeyuki (Shiro-sensei) leaned on Mamoru's desk. "The latest exam results are up, and Sorano-san's the top pupil again."

"Pupil?" Mamoru echoed, looking at him over the top of her book as she opened it again. "Are you sure you want to start using an old teacher's language?"

Takeyuki blushed. "Hey! Don't joke about that, Chino-san! I'm just saying-"

"There's no need to overreact, Shiro-sensei." And that was all she said to him. She just quietly went back to her book.

_She'll never change,_ Takeyuki thought as he gathered his papers together on his desk. He paused and smiled to himself. _But I wouldn't want it any other way._

The bell rang and the majority of the students rushed out of the classroom. Mamoru took her time packing her bag and was heading out the door when he called to her.

"Uh, Mamoru-chan-!" Takeyuki managed. He didn't realize what he had said before it had slipped out of his mouth. _What do I say now!_ he thought, his face growing hot as he felt Mamoru's eyes on him. "I-uh-"

She deeply exhaled and looked him squarely in the eye. "Now is neither the time nor the place." Mamoru turned on her heel.

"Then when is?" Takeyuki asked. _I don't want it to come to this, but-_

"Maybe never," Mamoru replied. She finally exited the room, but not without Takeyuki seeing her tears first.

_I have to make her understand!_ "Mamoru, wait-!" But it was too late. She was gone from the room, the hallway, and probably the building in a minute. The literature teacher sighed and slammed his fist down on his desk. "Dammit…!"

"Mamoru, are you okay?"

The taupe-haired girl caught her breath and looked behind her. "Oh, Kako-chan…"

"I saw run out of the building five minutes ago. You've been leaning against that lamppost for a while now."

"Oh, I just, uh, got a really bad grade on a quiz I got back from last period," she said.

Kako frowned at her. "It was you who told me that lit was your best subject, Mamoru…"

"So?"

"It was also you who told me that you have lit last period, _Mamoru_."

"Oh…"

Kako yanked on Mamoru's gray blazer. "What happened?"

Mamoru fell silent. "I…really don't want to talk, Kako. I'll see you tomorrow, though, okay?"

"Bring the end of the novel with you, all right? That's the only way I'm gonna let you off the hook for now, Mamoru!" Kako hollered.

Mamoru only smiled over her shoulder as she ran away into the distance, but then she turned away from her friend. From her friend and…her past.

The notebook and pen landed on the floor with an audible **_CA-THUNK_**. "Well," Mamoru commented to herself triumphantly, "I'm glad I ended the story that way. Maybe it was wrong to kill him off, but she _had_ to be with the other guy. I just felt it." Her smile faded. _Could his job have been considered the other girl?_ She forced a small chuckle. _It was the only reason… There was no one to stop us from being together…_ A tiny tear escaped Mamoru's left eye and she jumped out of her thoughts. "Look at me! Crying over something like that! It's so…stupid…"

Mamoru drowned in her tears as three shooting stars whizzed by her window outside. _The time is now. I…I want him back!_

The girl glanced up from her book. Her clear, light blue eyes pierced those of her classmate. "May I help you?"

"I was just wondering if you could help me with my math homework, Sorano-san," the boy squeaked.

Hikaru closed her book and her eyes. "That is the assignment from last night, correct?"

"Well, yeah, but…"

"Then I will not offer my help to someone who just slacks off and leaves their education for last. You are free to try someone else, though." Hikaru picked up her book and opened it, ignoring her classmate completely.

"H-hey…!"

"Kako, your grades are awful!" Mamoru stated, not managing to stifle her laughter one bit.

The pink-haired shrimp furrowed her brow. "Well, _sorry_! I can't help it if I don't do well in math! Besides, should you really be talking, Mamoru? You, with your D+ average?"

"Hey!" Mamoru shoved the progress report back to Kako. "Leave _me_ outta this!"

"Maybe we should get a tutor," Kako suggested, looking her progress report over one more time before stowing it away in the bottom of her school bag.

Mamoru looked at her over her shoulder. "Like who? Are you going to use some of that Amano wealth to help us out?" Mamoru smiled mischievously.

"No," Kako replied, ignoring her. "I know of someone who may offer her talents. For free."

"Let's go now," Kako said to Mamoru, popping her head in the door to Mamoru's junior classroom.

Mamoru frowned. "Does it have to be during lunch?"

"Yes!"

"It's such a shame, too. I finished the novel last night. I loved doing the ending, you know…"

Kako bit her lower lip. "It won't work this time, Mamoru!" She yanked on her friend's earlobe as she dragged Mamoru behind her out of the classroom. "We're going to seek help!"

"See! There she is!" Kako whispered to Mamoru. They looked around the corner of the hallway and saw Sorano Hikaru, but she wasn't alone.

The blonde girl in front of the others pushed Hikaru back against the wall, hard. "Why can't you say anything! Are you to good for us!"

Hikaru didn't lift her head.

A brunette stepped in front of the others, including the blonde. "You keep your nose in your books one minute, and in the air the next. Nice. Real nice." She motioned to the blonde. "Give her another lesson before we go back to lunch."

The blonde nodded. "Right." As the other girls followed the brunette, the blonde turned back to Hikaru. "You would've been better off not born at all, you know."

Mamoru and Kako noticed Hikaru clenched her fists right before the blonde girl punched her left cheek with a strong right hook. "We can't let her do that!" Kako whispered to Mamoru.

"I have an idea," Mamoru said. She stepped out from behind the safe haven of the corner and confronted the blonde. "You have no right to harm her just because she's smart."

The blonde looked at Mamoru like she was an idiot. "_Excuse_ me!"

Mamoru glared at the girl. "I think it's best that you back away. Now."

The girl looked unsure, but, after a minute, she backed off and disappeared down the hallway.

Kako appeared and helped Hikaru straighten up. "Are you all right? She hit you pretty hard…"

Hikaru slapped Kako's hand away. "I'm _fine_!" She stood up and walked away from the both of them.

"I think I know that blonde girl," Mamoru told Kako. "She's the captain of the girls' boxing club."

Kako shuddered. "I didn't even know we _had_ a boxing club!"

The two made their way back to their classrooms and separated at Mamoru's classroom door. Kako waited until the door was shut before she went back the way they came, to the girls' bathroom. Kako cracked the door open just a smidgen. _I was right,_ she thought.

Hikaru was standing in front of the mirror in the bathroom, swallowing her tears. "I'm strong!" she whispered to herself. "I'm strong. I…" She bit her lip.

Kako backed off and headed straight for her classroom. _I didn't know things were so bad for Sorano-san,_ Kako thought dismally to herself.

"I'm…taking another route home today," Kako said.

"Okay… I'll save the ending for tomorrow, then," Mamoru commented with a smile.

"Y-yeah…"

_I should probably stay far behind if I'm going to keep an eye on her,_ Kako thought. She watched Hikaru's form make its way down the street, elegant-like. _It's hard to believe she has no friends. She's so beautiful!_

Just then, Hikaru fell to one knee, huffing. Kako rushed to her side. "Are you all right!"

Hikaru shot her a nasty glare. "I'm fine! Were you following me!"

"Look, I didn't mean to-"

"Just shut up! My head's pounding! That noise coming out of your mouth is making it worse!" Hikaru grabbed the sides of her head with her hands and cried out. The pain was almost unbearable for her!

"We've got to get you to the hospital!" Kako whined. But when she moved to help Hikaru up, she was shoved away.

"It's not anything the hospital can fix!" Hikaru said.

"What!"

Hikaru's breathing became labored, but she cooled down a bit. "It's not a medical condition or anything. It only started happening recently…"

Kako blinked. "A throbbing headache that you only started getting recently…?"

The girl with her crystal clear light blue eyes picked up her things and stood. "You don't need to worry yourself over my health."

"But I just wanted to see if there was anything I could do to help!"

"You're better off leaving me alone!"

"NO!"

Hikaru was taken aback by Kako's forthrightness. "What do you mean, 'no'?"

"You're my classmate. I just want to make sure you're okay!"

"I'm not your classmate. You're a freshman. I'm a sophomore. Now will you please leave me alone?" She turned to go, but she fell again, her head even worse this time. "Not again…"

"What kind of headache leaves you on the ground struggling with pain!"

"Just shut up already! It's not a real headache, okay! I'm channeling someone's emotions. I've become an empath!"

Before the confused Kako could say anything, there were low grumbles behind the girls. Both turned to look and found themselves staring into the eyes of a pack of zombie-like people. There were only several of them, but they looked scary.

Hikaru looked bewildered. "What's going on here!"

Kako scanned the people and caught a glimpse of one of the people's shadows. _Just as I thought,_ she pondered. _These people are being controlled by those monster masterminds._ The pink-haired shrimp groped around in her pocket and found exactly what she needed. "It's show time," she said under her breath. Kako whipped out her brooch. "Lethe Forgetfulness Fulfillment!" The cold fall air engulfed the girl and she was once again Sailor Lethe. "Take one sip of the waters of the Lethe River from Hades, and you are bound to become a mindless servant. To bring about destruction through forgetfulness and rebirth with the bewildering air- that is my mission! Sailor Lethe!"

"Sailor Lethe!" Hikaru echoed. "What's going on with me! The empathic power I've gained, zombies, and now this freshman just transformed in front of me!"

"Now's not the time for thinking about how you might be crazy!" Lethe yelled at Hikaru. She stood still and focused. "Lethe Forgetfulness Quintessence!"

The attack should've surrounded the enemies and secured them, but that was not to happen this time around. Instead, Lethe ended up just throwing her power all around with the attack. In seconds, she was exhausted and lost consciousness. As she collapsed, Hikaru moved and got to her feet to help the girl.

"Hang in there, Amano-san!" Hikaru cried. But it was no use. Kako felt deathly still in her arms. "…K-Kako?" When she didn't reply, Hikaru let her body fall to the ground as she ran to her bag. "This isn't happening!" she screamed. As her fingertips touched her bag, a blue fire kept her from leaving. Scared, Hikaru stepped back and looked behind her. _I can't get out of here!_ She turned back the blue fire and realized that something was emerging from it this time. "Is that a…a _brooch_!"

"Help us…," the people moaned.

Hikaru felt their emotions whizzing through her head just like before. The brooch reacted to that. At once, the blue fire grew enormous and wrapped itself around Hikaru. There was a flash of sapphire light, and a new sailor had arrived.

"Woefulness reminds people of their sins. Guided by the river of woes, Acheron, with a blue fire, I bring about destruction through their guilt- that is my mission! Sailor Acheron!"

_What can I do to help these people?_ Acheron thought to herself. _I have no idea what I'm doing, let alone what's going on. Maybe…maybe I'm worthless after all…_ But her headache grew stronger. _NO!_ She looked to the people for an answer and saw it in their eyes.

"Help us…," they groaned again.

_What if…what if…_ Sailor Acheron stiffened. "A-Acheron Woefulness Incarnation!"

The people seemed immobilized, and they fell to the ground after a brief moment. Something stirred behind Acheron, though.

"Kako!"

"I know we're not classmates, but," Lethe said, sitting up and transforming back into Kako, "can we at least be friends?"

Acheron copied Kako's moves and became Hikaru once again. She was on the verge of tears as Kako stood up. "Why do you care?" she choked.

"Because it's not right what's happening to you. It's even worse that you're going through it alone. I want to change that."

"Th-thank you…" Hikaru dried her eyes and flung her arms around Kako's neck. "I'm sorry for being so nasty to you!"

"Oh, it's okay. Nasty is better than frightening."

"What do you mean?" Hikaru asked as they picked up their things and began walking.

"When I first met Mamoru, she scared me; she was so tall!"

Hikaru froze. "Are you going to tell Chino-san what happened?"

"Don't worry about it," Kako reassured her. "Actually, Mamoru has a brooch, too. She's Sailor Pheleg- Phleg-"

Realization occurred in the blue-eyed genius. "Sailor Phlegethon?"

Kako's bright eyes widened. "How did you know!"

"It's easy. And I think there may be two others with brooches and powers similar to us."

"Who?"

Hikaru thought for a moment and then noticed that they had come upon her house. "Oh!" She turned to the pink-haired shrimp. "I'm sorry again, Kako. This is my house. Look, I'll see you at lunch if I figure out what's going on. See you!" And with that, the hazel-haired girl ran into her house. Kako turned and headed home herself.

"Who was that?"

Hikaru kicked off her shoes and slipped on her slippers. "Don't you mean, 'welcome home'?" she taunted.

"Yeah, yeah," the guy mumbled. "'Welcome home' and all that other crap."

"Hey!"

He followed her into the kitchen. "Just who was that, though?"

"A new friend I made," Hikaru stated, searching the fridge for a Snapple juice drink. "Her name's Amano Kako."

There was a ten second pause before the male placed the name. "Wait. Isn't she that super popular and rich girl? How'd you come to be friends with her?"

"You left out overly-nice."

He chuckled. "Did I, now?" He walked up to Hikaru and touched her cheek; she winced. "They cornered you this time, didn't they? If only I could be there and protect you…"

Hikaru frowned. "It wouldn't do either of us any good. You can't go around beating up all of my enemies when you're in a different class. It's best to just leave things where they stand. Besides," Hikaru continued, letting him hug her close, "Kako's friend Mamoru stopped Mitsuki from beating me again."

"Again with the captain of the boxing club, huh?" He paused. "Do you mean Chino Mamoru by any chance?"

"I know what you're thinking, but she's not as mean as everyone believes. She stepped in and told Mitsuki to back off. Mamoru's also Kako's friend, so she must not be all that bad."

"Well, since you're the same genius I am, I guess I'll trust your word. Why don't you go rest?"

Hikaru nodded. "I definitely need some sleep, but only after I look up a few things in my books."

He sighed exasperatedly. "There you go again with your books!" he pointed out to her as she headed up the stairs. "You mind drawing a bath for me on your way to your room first?"

"I'm your sister," Hikaru yelled down the staircase, "not your maid!"

"Yeah, yeah…," he muttered again. He searched through the stack of newspapers and found what he was looking for. The article was titled: 'CHAIRMAN AMANO: A FAMILY MAN AS WELL AS A BUSINESSMAN'. The photo beside it was a recent black-and-white picture of Chairman Amano Hiro beside his daughter, Kako. The teen smiled to himself. _Amano Kako, huh? Popular, rich, and nice wrapped up all into one small package. I'd like to see just how nice someone like that could be._ He folded the newspaper and placed it with the others before he headed to the washroom. _Those pigtails of hers are quite cute, too…_

mew-tsubaki here! I hope you're enjoying this fanfic even though the original senshi only appeared in the first chapter. But this _is_ a spin-off. Anyway, I just wanted to say that the reason why this last section of this chapter with Hikaru and her brother was confusing is because I don't want to reveal too much about him yet. Look for upcoming chapters to see more of him! -


	5. Yoruno Miyabi

**Pandora's Senshi**

A Sailor Moon Spin-off Fanfiction

By mew-tsubaki

Note: Ha-HA! This time, I have copyright power over these characters because their MY OWN! (Woo-hoo!) Anyway, I want to give some credit to Naoko Takeuchi-sensei, though, because I used the original names she had planned for the Sailor Moon characters (Sorano Hikaru, Yoruno Miyabi, Chino Mamoru, and Artemis; only Amano is hers- I came up with Kako), and the original scouts (Moon through Saturn) are hers. By the way, I know that the senshi names (Phlegethon, Colytus, Styx, Acheron, and Lethe) come from rivers in Hades (I read it somewhere) and have nothing to do with Pandora's Box, but read on to discover what they're really about. - Don't forget: READ, REVIEW, AND ENJOY! P.S.- the Artemis in this fanfic isn't the same as the cat-turned-human Artemis from the original series. She's someone completely different. Also, the other senshi will not be making anymore appearances. It's original from here on out.

Chapter Five: Yoruno Miyabi a.k.a. Sailor Styx

"Wait. So you're telling me that the genius girl Sorano Hikaru has a brooch just likes the ones we have?" Mamoru asked Kako as they ate lunch together on the roof.

Kako nodded. "Yep. It happened last night when these zombie-like people appeared out of nowhere. Turns out that she's Sailor Acheron. But the problem she has is really bad…"

"What do you mean?"

"She says she's an empath. You know, when you're able to feel other people's emotions."

"Wow…" Mamoru thought for a minute before taking another bite out of her sandwich. "An empath…"

Just then, the door to the rooftop burst open and Sorano Hikaru came running over to them. She was waving a book around in the air. "I've found it!"

Kako and Mamoru watched as Hikaru stumbled as she reached them. When she sat down, she plopped the book down on the tiles before the other two. "'Greek Mythology'?" Mamoru read aloud.

"You said you figured something out," Kako remembered, facing Hikaru.

The girl nodded. "And I did." She opened the book to a section marked with a sticky-note. "In Hades, there were five rivers. There was the Phlegethon, the Lethe, Acheron, Styx, and Colytus. These five rivers each represented a different stage of Hades. The Phlegethon filled them with rage. Styx reminded them of their hatred. Acheron reminded them of their woes. Colytus tormented them with the screams of the ones they hurt in their past lives. When they reached the Lethe River, they were forced to drink from its waters to forget who they were and forget all about their past lives. At that point they were pretty much zombies and they were left to become victims to Hades' cruel punishment."

"But," Kako began. "How do we fit in with all of this? I mean, none of us want to kill or torture people and turn them into zombies. I don't understand it at all."

Hikaru frowned. "Unfortunately, I don't know how we fit into all of it, either. I'm still working on it."

Mamoru thought. "So, there are two others like us?" she asked.

"Yes," Hikaru confirmed. "I'm guessing they'll be Sailor Styx and Sailor Colytus." She grabbed one of Mamoru's sandwiches.

"Hey! Eat your own food!" Mamoru whined.

Hikaru shrugged. "Can't. I forgot my lunch today."

"You-!"

Kako giggled at the sight of her friends squabbling. Just then, she looked up at the door to the rooftop. Someone was there, watching them. His eyes were a piercing blue and his hair was of the lightest hazelnut color. "Sorano-san…," she mumbled. In a second, though, he turned and left.

Hikaru and Mamoru looked at Kako. "What's wrong Kako?" Hikaru asked. "I'm over here."

Red-faced, Kako shook her head. "I-It's nothing!"

"Whatever…"

The pink-haired girl watched as her friends started chatting again, but her mind was elsewhere. _That guy,_ she thought, _was watching us. He seemed so familiar… One thing makes me wonder, though. Why won't my heart stop pounding?_

"YEEEK!"

"Not again! Come on, Yoruno-san! Just hold the scalpel steady and cut down the middle!"

The dark-haired girl collapsed onto the stool. "I can't! Every time I see a frog pinned down on a tray like that…" She looked at the amphibian. "I'm gonna puke…!"

Her teacher and classmate looked at her. "Puke THAT WAY!" they said in unison, pointing away from them.

"This isn't a joke…," the girl mumbled, her brow furrowed.

The teacher grimaced. "Yoruno-san, you already don't do very well in my lab. I'm afraid I'll have to flunk you if you can't finish this dissection."

Something changed Yoruno's mind. She gripped the scalpel in her hand. _All right,_ she reassured herself. _I can do this. I can do this._ She started cutting down the middle of the frog, neck first. _I can do thi-_ Suddenly, gooey gross goop spurted from the frog's insides, covering Yoruno's face.

All was still and quiet in the entire biology lab. The teacher was scared Yoruno was going to scream again, but she didn't. "Y-Yoruno-san…?"

With a clunk, the scalpel hit the tray, and Yoruno tipped over. She had fainted.

"Hikaru, Kako, it's the end of the day. I want to go home!" Mamoru whined. But the other two insisted on dragging her to something elsewhere in the school building. When they got closer to the pool, they saw the huge crowd of people watching something. "What's going on?"

"This is what Kako and I wanted you to see," Hikaru said. "See that girl over there? Number three?" She pointed to one of the middle rows of the pool, but Mamoru couldn't make out a number.

"She's going too fast. I can't see her."

"That's the thing," Kako stated. "She's really fast. In fact, she's the top swimmer on our swim team. Just wait until she's done."

It was a few more seconds before the race was over. After the swimmers got out of the pool, the gym teacher looked happy and seemed to be congratulating number three with a pat on the pack. The girl removed her cap to reveal gorgeous dark hair with maroon highlights. She smiled triumphantly as the horde of onlookers rushed to her side.

"I think she set another record," Hikaru commented. "Yoruno-san's always doing that. But look- isn't she beautiful?" Hikaru and Kako watched Yoruno like the other groupies, but Mamoru shrugged.

"She's pretty, but I'm going home now. I'll see you nuts tomorrow." She turned around and left.

Kako and Hikaru waited until the crowd had died down so that it was just the remainder of the swim team members left. They walked up to Yoruno-san and congratulated her. "Here, you may want to tie your wet hair back," Kako said, holding out a ponytail holder.

Yoruno took it. "Thanks. It'll be easier for my hair to dry that way. What're your names?'

"I'm Amano Kako, and my friend here is Sorano Hikaru."

"Hey, I've heard of you two," Yoruno said, eyes wide with excitement. "The rich girl and the genius! Oh, I'm sorry. I'm Yoruno Miyabi. You can call me Miyabi if you like." Miyabi smiled again and the room seemed to brighten up a bit just by the power of it.

The other two smiled back, but Hikaru's faded when she noticed something was wrong. "Is that…a bruise on your neck?" she asked timidly.

Miyabi appeared to stiffen. "Uh, n-no, I don't think so," she said shakily.

Hikaru focused her eyes on Miyabi's neck. "It is!" She turned to the dark-haired girl. "Do you know how you got it?"

"I remember I tripped recently. It must have been then. I hope to see you guys again!" she said cheerily as she dashed off.

Kako frowned. "Didn't that seem…a little fake?"

"Yes. She knew it was obvious, too, but we can't do anything about it. Oh, well, I'm heading home now. You should be getting home, too, shrimp."

The pink-haired girl stomped her foot on the ground. "H-Hey!"

"YEAAAH! WOO-HOO!"

"Go, go, Yoruno!"

"She's almost there and… YES!"

"She came in first place again! SO COOL!"

There were many other shouts, cheers, and jeers as Yoruno Miyabi hopped out of the pool. Her classmates were roaring with whoops and hoots as she was announced the winner of the race…yet again. First and foremost among her fans were Hikaru and Kako.

"Thanks for coming, guys," Miyabi said them. "Did you all stay to watch my event?"

Kako pulled Mamoru from out of the crowd by her ear. "Yes, we all came to see you."

Miyabi offered her hand to Mamoru. "Nice to finally meet you, Mamoru. I hope you don't mind if I call you that. Call me Miyabi."

Mamoru shook her hand. "Uh, y-yeah… Same here."

As the groupies dispersed with the toll of bell, the only ones who delayed their departure for home were the scouts and Miyabi. "It really dies down after everyone finds out who won," Miyabi commented. "But silence can be pretty nice when you here shouts and stuff all day."

"We were thinking that we could all walk home today," Hikaru stated, meeting Kako's eyes. "We'll wait for you right here, Miyabi-chan."

Again, she seemed to falter, but she halfheartedly grinned. "I-I guess it's okay. I'll be right back." Miyabi headed to the showers while the other three stayed behind, waiting.

"I don't get why I have to be here," Mamoru pointed out. "She seems nice and all and she's a good swimmer, but I don't really feel the need to be friends with her."

"It wouldn't kill you to be a kind person for once, Mamoru," Hikaru taunted.

"Look, you-!"

"Uh, guys?" Kako squeaked.

"You what?" Hikaru shot back. "I don't get what you're problem is with me."

Mamoru was ready to explode. "Problem? Problem! You're just one big problem yourself!"

"GUYS!" Kako yelled over both of them.

"WHAT!"

The pink-haired shrimp pointed behind them. "Miyabi's teammates are attacking her!"

Mamoru shrugged. "I've heard of sore losers before, but-"

**_CLONK!_**

Kako had smacked both Hikaru and Mamoru's heads. "Stop arguing and get moving, you dolts!" Kako whipped out her brooch. "Lethe Forgetfulness Fulfillment!"

"At least we know _I've_ got her covered," Hikaru sneered. "Acheron Woefulness Fulfillment!"

"Ugh!" Mamoru mumbled. "That _jerk_! Phlegethon Rage Fulfillment!"

All three ran to the locker-room and stopped short when they realized that Miyabi was between them and the possessed students. "Move!" Lethe ordered.

Miyabi only shook her head. "Please don't hurt them! I don't know what's going on, but, if they hate me, I want to fix it on my own. They're…they're…"

"Look, it's not something you can handle," Phlegethon stated. "You can't…win by yourself."

"Miyabi-chan," Acheron said, "it's best to let us handle this."

The girl looked over her shoulder at the senshi behind her. "Who are you guys? And how do you know my name?"

Phlegethon shot Acheron a nasty glare. "Let's just say it's our job to take care of situations like this," the taupe-haired soldier said.

"Your job? But why-?"

"Watch out!" Lethe knocked Miyabi off her feet before one of the swim team members made contact with her. "You've got to be more careful."

But Miyabi ignored her. "Why is it your job?" she asked.

Acheron dodged one of the other members. "We don't really know ourselves." She turned back to the possessed students. "Acheron Woefulness Incarnation!"

And yet the students remained unharmed. Lethe, Phlegethon, and Acheron were shocked. Her attack hadn't missed; it just hadn't worked!

"What's going on!" Miyabi inquired as the senshi kept her safe from the attacks. "You said it was your job to take care of this. Why didn't it work?"

"We don't know already, so shut up!" Phlegethon hollered. She reared her fist to hit one of the students, but she was surrounded. "Just how many people are on the swim team anyway!"

Several of the pupils broke away and lunged for Lethe, but they missed, and Miyabi was sent flying into the pool instead. Lethe was struck with horror. "MIYABI!"

_I kept making excuses to stay away from people… I don't want the world to know what my family does to me. I know they don't mean it. I was… I am scared of what might happen if someone or someones discover what's going on. But…maybe that's what I need. Maybe it's time I told someone the problem. Maybe it's time I let all of my anger out!_

There was a shining, blood red light emitting from the pool. The water rose up and caught everyone's attention, scout and possessed pupil. While the possessed had no idea what was going on, the senshi knew the familiar light.

As the waves crashed down on the concrete tiles of the pool, the water drifted out in tides. A figure was floating in the center of the pool. "The Styx River of Hades makes lost souls remember their hatefulness from their past lives. To bring about destruction through the hate and anger of my acid waters- that is my mission! Sailor Styx!"

"Genius girl strikes again!" Acheron called to Phlegethon.

Sailor Styx spread her arms out down by her sides. Her hair flew up along with the water. "Styx Hatefulness Epithet!" The streams of water engulfed each student and released their grip after a split-second. Each possessed student fainted and fell to the ground, but the monsters that had possessed their shadows were gone. For good.

"What's this power?" Styx said aloud, clenching her fist and staring at it.

The other girls transformed back. "We're just as confused as you are, Miyabi-chan," Kako softly stated.

She transformed back, too. "Wait… All three of you have the same…?"

"Yes," Hikaru said. "There's one more of us, though. One who we haven't met yet. That's Sailor Colytus."

Realization hit Miyabi. "'Sailor'…?"

"Yeah," Mamoru said. "Something wrong?"

"And we're all sailors…?"

"So it would seem," Hikaru confirmed. "What are you getting at?"

Miyabi shook her head. "I just thought of something. If I figure it out, I'll make contact with you guys. I just need some time to sort some things out." As she walked away, Miyabi seemed lost in thought, off in her own little world.

"Well, that was nice," Mamoru retorted. "And now I'm outta here." She picked up her bag and left before either of the other two could stop her.

"Great. We're more and more involved in this whole sailor business…," Mamoru mumbled to herself.

"What was that?" a voice said from behind. Mamoru froze. A strong, warm hand gripped her shoulder. "That's okay. You don't have to tell me," Takeyuki stated, smiling. "Where have you been the whole time?"

The taupe-haired girl crimsoned. She had not expected to see Takeyuki at all! "I- I-I was just…" She caught her breath. _What do I say to him!_

A minute of silence passed over the two before either of them said anything. Finally, it was Takeyuki who broke the silence. "Mamoru-chan, I wanted to tell you-"

"Don't call me that anymore. You're not allowed to. You're the one who ran off to the states. You left me in the dust. Besides, even if I did want you back, we couldn't have it. You're a teacher. _My_ teacher!" She turned around and, even though she tried not crying, she couldn't help it. The tiny droplets were forcing their way out of her. "I'm not Mamoru-chan anymore," she choked. "I'm Chino-san. I'll never be Mamoru-chan again."

Takeyuki's brow furrowed. "It could happen again, though. We don't know for sure-"

"I do. I know it-" Mamoru was cut off as Takeyuki wrapped his arms around her.

"Don't push me away. Please, don't push me away. I want a second chance. I-" He exhaled slowly. "I want us to try again."

Mamoru could feel her throat go dry, but she had to make him understand. "Takeyuki, I lo-" She shook her head. "I need you to let go of me."

Shocked and hurt, he did so. But when he tried to read her eyes, she wouldn't meet his. "Mamoru-chan…"

"I'll see you tomorrow at school, Shiro-sensei." Mamoru turned on her heel and ran. Takeyuki ran his fingers through his gelled hair and grimaced. It's not like he was geeky; he didn't wear glasses. He was only two and a half years older than her; she would be eighteen in two months. Then he thought. _An early birthday present. I know her birthday's the twenty-sixth of December, but…but it would be a present for both of us. _Steadily, he clenched his fists. "My mind's set. Tomorrow, for sure…"


	6. Shiro Takeyuki and Sorano Genji

**Pandora's Senshi**

A Sailor Moon Spin-off Fanfiction

By mew-tsubaki

Note: Ha-HA! This time, I have copyright power over these characters because their MY OWN! (Woo-hoo!) Anyway, I want to give some credit to Naoko Takeuchi-sensei, though, because I used the original names she had planned for the Sailor Moon characters (Sorano Hikaru, Yoruno Miyabi, Chino Mamoru, and Artemis; only Amano is hers- I came up with Kako), and the original scouts (Moon through Saturn) are hers. By the way, I know that the senshi names (Phlegethon, Colytus, Styx, Acheron, and Lethe) come from rivers in Hades (I read it somewhere) and have nothing to do with Pandora's Box, but read on to discover what they're really about. - Don't forget: READ, REVIEW, AND ENJOY! P.S.- the Artemis in this fanfic isn't the same as the cat-turned-human Artemis from the original series. She's someone completely different. Also, the other senshi will not be making anymore appearances. It's original from here on out.

Chapter Six: Shiro Takeyuki and Sorano Genji

"Another uneventful day to let drag on has come," Mamoru whined.

Kako gripped her shoulder and leaned on her friend for support. "Not that I disagree with you, but do you have to say it so dismally?"

"There's no other way to say it, Kako-chan."

The two walked on in silence for the rest of the way to Azusa Yomi Municipal High, each thinking of how tired they were of having to deal with the shadow monsters. The past two days had brought stress along with two new senshi. To Mamoru and Kako, it felt like time was whizzing past them with no intention of stopping or even slowing down.

Kako separated from Mamoru at the door to Mamoru's junior class and Kako continued down to her classroom, in a daze. _So much has happened in such little time. New friends…but their problems and troubles come with them. What if I crack? I can't complain to them. I'm the only one in the group who doesn't have any real problems…_

During this small thinking period, Kako wasn't paying any attention to where she was going. She could have run into something. …and she did.

"Genji! Get this to the teacher, pronto!"

"I'm on it!" As Genji rounded the corner, he ran smack dab into Kako. He winced and brushed his bangs out of his eyes. "Sorry!" he said, not looking at Kako. Then he realized he was on top of her. "Whoa! I'm really sorry there! I wasn't paying attention to where I was going and I-" Then their eyes met. "So you're Amano Kako. …Why are you looking at me like that?"

The pink-haired shrimp's mouth was gaping. "S-S-S-Sorano-san…!" she said, pointing at him.

"I don't believe we've met, but it doesn't surprise me that you know my name. You've probably met my sister, Hikaru."

"Hikaru-chan?" Kako echoed. Then _she_ realized he was on top of her. "Oh! I'm sorry! I-" Genji lifted her up as if she weighed less than a feather. "Th-thank you!" Kako finally stuttered.

"It was my fault. I was in a hurry."

"No, no. I wasn't looking where I was going." Kako halfheartedly smiled. "So, you're Hikaru's brother? Are you guys twins?"

"Yep. We're fraternal twins. Hikaru mentioned you and Chino-san a few days ago."

Kako's heart skipped a beat. She sure hoped Hikaru hadn't told him about the Lethe part! "Y-Yeah… Mamoru and I were going to ask her to help us study when we saw a huge group of girls bullying her. I couldn't believe it when they hurt her. That shouldn't happen to anyone, especially if other people are just jealous of them. Don't you agree?"

Genji chuckled to himself. "You sure are serious about it, but, yes, I agree. By the way, my name's Genji. Mind if I call you Kako-chan?"

She blushed. "Um, s-sure." The bell rang and both were startled. "Oh, I've got to get to class! This may be the first time I'm late!"

"It'll be the same old for me," Genji commented. "Sorry for making you late, Kako-chan," he said with a smile as he continued in the opposite direction from her down the hall. He suddenly stopped. "See you sixth period?" he asked her.

"I have class then," she replied.

A mischievous smile broke out on his face. "So?"

Kako stood staring at his figure as he disappeared down the hall. Her heart was still racing and her face was still bright red. _He makes my heart pound a mile a minute,_ she thought. _Sorano Genji… He looks like the masculine form of Hikaru. Exactly the same, but so different._ Kako held her fist close to her heart. _His touch is so warm…_

"Kako! Kako! Earth to Kako! Calling Kako!"

"Sorry. That's a long distance call."

Kako's classmates made more jokes, but they couldn't break Kako out of her daydream. No matter how hard they tried, Kako involuntarily ignored them. But she didn't want to let the sweet, sweet dream go…

"Mamoru, Shiro-sensei says he needs to see you," a girl said behind Mamoru.

The taupe-haired girl who doubled as Sailor Phlegethon jolted a little. "O-Oh, okay. I'll go right now." Mamoru put down what she was reading and headed for Takeyuki's classroom. _He won't pull anything while we're at school,_ Mamoru thought, _so it must be something else._ She opened the door and stuck her head in. "Shiro-sensei?"

"Come in, Mamoru-chan," he said in a soft voice.

A little annoyed that he was calling her Mamoru-chan again, she listened and closed the door behind her in case he was going to continue with his antics. "We're at school. You know you can't call me that," she started, but she stopped when she realized he was fitting his things from his desk into a rather small box. "What are you doing?"

"It's okay to call you Mamoru-chan now," he stated, not meeting her eyes. He paused and thought for a moment. "I got…fired."

"What! Why!"

Takeyuki shook his head. "It's okay. I was lucky that a bookstore wanted me. Actually, since I know so much about literature, they asked me to start out in the manager position. I'll actually be getting paid more than what I got here." He closed the box, pushed his chair in, and drew the curtains closed. "Isn't that nice?"

The sunlight filtered through the curtains and barely lit the room. With the lights off, the room seemed like it was already sunset and everything was illuminated with an ethereal glow. Silence echoed off the surrounding walls while both Mamoru and Takeyuki held their breaths, waiting for the other to say something to break the uncomfortable peace.

"So," Mamoru began, "do you still live in the dingy apartment your parents told me about?"

"Yes. I'll probably be there for the rest of my life," Takeyuki chuckled, his hand behind his head. He noticed Mamoru smiled just a tiny bit.

"I-I'll see you later," she mumbled. She turned around and opened the door and, when she was halfway over the threshold, she gave Takeyuki a quick smile and left.

_Maybe,_ Takeyuki thought, _maybe I can get it right this time. I want her back…_

"You look happy. It couldn't have been your lunch. _That _looks terrible."

"Say whatever you like, Hikaru," Mamoru stated nonchalantly. "You can't ruin my mood today."

"Why _are_ you so happy, Mamoru?" Kako asked, coming out of her own little world for the first time that day (and it was already lunchtime).

Mamoru's smile faded slightly. "Kako, you know when I told you I didn't want to talk about what's bothering me?"

Both Hikaru and Kako stopped eating their lunches. "Yeah… What are you getting at?"

The taupe-haired girl sighed. "It was a little over a year ago. Our parents were friends, so we grew up together."

"Wait! Who are you talking about?"

"Shiro Takeyuki." The befuddled looks she received from both of them didn't stop her from going on. "I know, I know, it's weird, but just hear me out." Mamoru brushed the hair out of her face as a breeze blew by. "You see, I'm only two and half years younger than him. We were childhood friends and I started to really like him when I was thirteen. It turned out he really liked me, too. He asked my father if he could date me a year later and, while both our fathers were opposed to it, our mothers laughed and mentioned how long all of us had known each other, that Takeyuki would be good to me. We had a whole year to ourselves, but then… Takeyuki was a good student. A _really_ good student. His high school urged him to graduate early because of his grades. Soon, he was getting a lot of letters from universities from all over the country…and from other countries. He accepted one from a college in the states. We almost made it to the two-year anniversary, but he left before that happened. We kept in touch for while, but we wrote less and less to each other and, soon, we stopped all together. I assumed he had gotten sick of me."

"How could you have been so stupid?" Hikaru cut in.

"It's not the way I wanted things to go!" Mamoru shot back. She sighed again. "But the thing is, he came back. And I didn't know that it would be as my teacher."

"Yowch…" Kako and Hikaru mumbled in unison.

"But…I still like him. A lot. I…I love him…"

"But you can't do anything because he's a teacher and you're a student…," Kako stated. "How sad."

Mamoru halfheartedly smiled. "That's why I wanted to tell you. He…he was fired. Luckily, he got another job that pays better. So…I was thinking of seeing if I could get another chance with him, but…"

"But what?"

"I'm…I'm not sure if he still feels the same way about me."

Hikaru blinked. "Did you just say he was fired?"

"Yeah, that's what he told me."

"That's not the case, though. I was talking with one of the teachers earlier today. She said that Shiro-sensei suddenly quit. Supposedly when asked why, he said it was for personal reasons." All three girls were quiet as their hearts raced. "_You_ are his personal reason, Mamoru. He quit so he can be with you!"

Mamoru covered her mouth and forced back happy tears. _He quit…for me!_

Hikaru took another bite of her bento. "You can be a real idiot sometimes."

"Hikaru-chan!" Kako scolded.

But Mamoru ignored it. All she could think of was what she and Takeyuki had had way back when. All of those memories came flooding back. _I…I…_

The bell rang and the girls cleaned up on the roof before heading back into the building. When Hikaru and Kako parted from Mamoru halfway down the hall, Hikaru asked Kako why her face was bright red. "Um, I-I have to be somewhere right now!"

"Wait. You have class, Kako! Are you gonna skip?"

The pink-haired shrimp ran off in the direction opposite her freshman classroom. Kako didn't say anything more to Hikaru. _It's so strange what I'm doing!_ Kako scolded herself. _I'm skipping sixth period just to go see Hikaru's twin brother… And I don't even know where he wanted to see me!_ Kako paused and caught her breath. _But…there's something about him… I don't know why I'm even doing this…!_

"Ah, you showed. How'd you know I'd be on the roof?"

"S-Stop messing around. We should both be in class right now." Kako, red-faced once again, brushed her bangs off the tops of her eyes. "You have no idea how much trouble I'm in…"

Genji stopped leaning on the railing and walked over to her. "Well, that's a new side of you. I've seen popular, rich, and nice, but not worried or annoyed. I think I may be the first to witness it."

Kako glared at him. "Is that all you have to say to me! I have a life to live, all right? I can't go breaking down like everyone else around me! I have to be the strong one!" When she caught her breath, she realized it was too late to take back her words.

"So you put up a face?" he asked. Genji looked her squarely in the eye. "You hide everything to yourself and won't let anyone cry for you or care for you."

She bit her lower lip as she realized what she was caught up in. "It's not like I have a choice…," she mumbled. Her eyes fell to the ground. "My mom died last year, but no one was ever there to really comfort me or help me through it. I guess I felt like… Well, my classmates made me feel like I had suffered something so minor compared to all the daily troubles that were thrown at them." Kako sighed. "_That's_ why I have to put up a face. Don't you get it? I have to be there for everyone even when they're not there for me."

"That was more than I was hoping for from this little meeting," Genji commented. "But I think your problem isn't that you don't have anyone to lean on. You just won't lean on anyone. You're against it; you think it might show your weakness."

"I-I don't have any weakness!" Kako stuttered as he moved closer to her. "I d-don't have…"

"So your biggest trouble is off your chest. Do you really regret finally telling someone?"

"I barely know you!"

"And that's what you needed." When he saw her puzzled look, he elaborated. "Other people know the fake you and they would be horrified to learn that this is what you're really like-"

"HEY!"

"-but when you let someone you've just met know the true you, you're giving them the chance to really see you for who you truly are. Do you really regret that?"

Kako had to admit that he was right. But the look in his eye was so intense, and he was so close to her, it made her feel like she couldn't breathe. _And so he knows all about me know…,_ she thought. _There's no point in running away from it._ She hung her head. "I guess not."

Suddenly, Genji took her face in his hands and made her look him in the eye. "Would you mind repeating that?" he asked with a smile.

She couldn't help but smile back. "I guess not!"

"There we go! Now you're free to be yourself in front of others!"

"WHAT!"

"Come on, Kako-chan. It's not like it's going to hurt you."

But Kako faltered. "But…I'm-I'm scared of what they'll think. This is the first time I've told someone this. I haven't even opened up to my father about this!" Kako was really shaken up by the suggestion.

Genji sighed and put an arm around her. "All right, all right, my little con artist. How about this? You don't have to be real in front of anyone but me-on one condition: try to be yourself bit by bit in front of Hikaru and Chino-san. They're your friends, and they deserve better than what they're getting."

Kako looked at him incredulously. "So you're going to hog me all to yourself? Boy, you move fast. You're smart like Hikaru, but that's about it. You've done this before, haven't you? Hit on girls like this?"

Genji smiled mischievously as he lifted her chin with his index finger and moved his lips towards hers. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

"I-"

Well, the bell rang again, spoiling Genji's plans for the afternoon. Kako actually went back to class this time and, while she urged him not to cut seventh, he shrugged and smiled as she went back into the building. Kako had never been so red-faced before in her entire life! _He has a cute face, but smarts that come along with it. Who'd have thought?_ She smiled to herself on the inside just a little. _Maybe I'll take him up on his offer._

_Should I really do this?_ Mamoru asked herself, blushing. _Hikaru and Kako were all for it when I was trying to decide what to do, but…_ Mamoru's hand trembled as she lifted her finger to ring the doorbell buzzer. Before she even rang it, Takeyuki appeared.

"Oh! Mamoru-chan! I wasn't expecting to see you here!" he said, his heart beating against his rib cage.

"I-I know. I wanted to talk to you though. I- What's with the box?"

Takeyuki reluctantly smiled. "This? It's some of my stuff from my apartment. The landlady sold the building and told everyone we have until the end of the week to move out. It really stinks. Being fired and then kicked out of my home."

"About you being fired… I know you weren't, Takeyuki." Mamoru stared him in the eye and he dropped the box. "Why did you quit?"

"Because I wanted to be with you." His straightforward answer startled Mamoru; she had not expected it out of him! "Look, I'm sorry about everything that's happened, but I didn't really want it to happen. I wanted to stay here and be with you. I know you've given up on me, but- I guess I just wanted you to know I haven't given up on us." He looked at Mamoru, who was silent.

Finally, she said something. "Do you want to come live with me?" The whole time, she had her eyes closed. Takeyuki nearly fell over from her question. "I-I mean- you don't have a place to live and-"

"And?" he echoed.

"And I want you to know I haven't given up on us either." Mamoru opened her eyes and stared into his. "I thought you had gotten tired of me. I thought you had maybe even forgotten about me. But all this time…I still loved you. I love you and I can't change it."

There was an odd pause as the flabbergasted couple stared into each other's eyes. Snow lightly drifted to the ground and fell all around them. It touched their clothes and skin. Takeyuki saw Mamoru's breath in the air. _Nothing touches Mamoru's lips,_ Takeyuki thought, _nothing but mine!_ He ran to her and caught her in his strong arms. Her hat fell to the ground as he pulled her in for the most amazing kiss either of them had ever had. Mamoru pulled away for a split-second to breathe, but both went back for more. This time, though, they shared in a French kiss. After another minute, both stopped. "Will you live with me?" she asked.

"Of course," he said, smiling at her. He bent down and picked up her hat to place it on her head. "I only have one other box of things. I can take everything with me now, if you want." As Takeyuki turned on his heel, Mamoru stopped him.

"There's just one thing: you still cook, right?"

"Why do you ask?" He paused for a second. "You never learned to cook, did you?"

"Sorry!"

He sighed exasperatedly, but smiled nonetheless. "I'll get my things and then we can head home."

"Home…" The word tingled on Mamoru's lips. "It's been such a long time since I've used that term."

"You won't be lonely anymore, Mamoru-chan," he commented quietly to himself. Takeyuki ran up to his apartment and grabbed the other box, not bothering to look over the place one last time. It didn't bother him, though; it was never really home to him. He joined Mamoru downstairs and they headed to her- well, _their_ apartment.


	7. Cocytus

**Pandora's Senshi**

A Sailor Moon Spin-off Fanfiction

By mew-tsubaki

Note: Ha-HA! This time, I have copyright power over these characters because their MY OWN! (Woo-hoo!) Anyway, I want to give some credit to Naoko Takeuchi-sensei, though, because I used the original names she had planned for the Sailor Moon characters (Sorano Hikaru, Yoruno Miyabi, Chino Mamoru, and Artemis; only Amano is hers- I came up with Kako), and the original scouts (Moon through Saturn) are hers. By the way, I know that the senshi names (Phlegethon, Cocytus, Styx, Acheron, and Lethe) come from rivers in Hades (I read it somewhere) and have nothing to do with Pandora's Box, but read on to discover what they're really about. - Don't forget: READ, REVIEW, AND ENJOY!! P.S.- the Artemis in this fanfic isn't the same as the cat-turned-human Artemis from the original series. She's someone completely different. Also, the other senshi will not be making anymore appearances. It's original from here on out.

**NOTE:**As of today, 9/23/06, I haven't touched my computer for ten days because I was grounded (even though I was working on chapter eight and this one had been done). Now, I know there are a lot of people who like and love this story, but I did some research and it turns out that it's not Colytus, but actually _Cocytus._ I'm sorry for any future confusion. Honestly, I had no idea, but she will be known as Sailor Cocytus from now on. Thank you.

Chapter Seven: Sailor Cocytus

Several weeks passed and the girls had been fighting more and more shadow creatures. Miyabi still hadn't discovered what it was she was looking for yet, and it made all of the four senshi nervous. They had no idea what they were getting into, but they did it anyway. Each of them felt that it was what they _had_ to do.

Kako had come to regularly meet Genji at the rooftop at different times of the school day, but never lunch, when she would eat with the girls. She really had taken him up on his offer. But she was a nutcase half of the time. Mamoru, Hikaru, and Miyabi all knew about Sailor Lethe; Genji knew about the real Kako. She dreaded what would happen if the two were to ever meet. Other than that, though, things were going pretty well, especially when it came to Kako and Genji.

Takeyuki's residence in Mamoru's apartment was no problem at all. They were both happy to be back together again. But it was gnawing at Mamoru; she hadn't told her friends! The girl felt that her friends had a right to know since they urged her to go see him, but she wasn't too sure that they'd like the idea of her living with him.

Overall, both Mamoru and Kako were on edge half of the time. Hikaru and Miyabi had no idea what they were hiding, let alone why they would hide something. Miyabi shrugged it off and ignored it, but it got to Hikaru. Things weren't going too well for her either…

"Don't think that just because you found some freaks just like you means that you're safe! You're still an eyesore, Sorano!"

_**BAM!**_

Hikaru hit the wall harder than usual. She coughed and realized she had spit up some blood this time. The girl feigned a smile. _I'll probably die of internal bleeding before I even make it to college, _Hikaru-chan thought. She clenched her fist and slammed it against the wall. _Damn it!_

The genius girl slowly and painfully made her way to the girls' bathroom nearby and rinsed her mouth with water from the sink. After drying her mouth, she ran ice cold water over her hand to stop it from swelling. _Maybe I shouldn't have hit that wall so hard…_

"H-Hikaru-chan?" a voice came from behind.

Hikaru turned around to find Miyabi behind her, looking a little frightened. "What can I do for you, Miyabi?"

Miyabi pointed to the sink. "Th-that wasn't blood you were spitting right now, was it?" The girl was shaking all over.

"You'd be best off to just forget you ever saw it, Miyabi," Hikaru stated nonchalantly. She turned the faucet off and dried her hands. Hikaru said nothing more as she passed Miyabi to leave the bathroom, but it left Miyabi frightened even more.

"Tell me," Miyabi began, as she and Kako and Mamoru were waiting for Hikaru, "is Hikaru being bullied?"

Both Kako and Mamoru stopped eating. Their eyes sort of glazed over, trying not to answer Miyabi.

"Please tell me."

Kako sighed. "I don't think it's really our place to say anything, but…yes." She met Miyabi's eyes. "It's been going on for a long time now."

Miyabi felt sick. "Why didn't I know? Have you guys stepped in? Does the faculty know about this?"

Mamoru shook her head. "We stumbled upon it ourselves. Hikaru doesn't want help, though. She doesn't want anyone else to get involved." Mamoru was silent for a moment. "You saw something, didn't you? Is that why you're asking?"

"Of course it is. They flung her into a wall so hard that she was coughing up blood. And a lot of it, too. If something doesn't change, this could get more serious than any of us realized." Miyabi dropped her sandwich down into her lunchbox; she had lost her appetite to eat.

"I'm sure Hikaru will think of something before it gets too serious," Mamoru reassured Miyabi. "She's a genius, anyway."

"Maybe you're right…"

At the door to the roof, Hikaru dropped her lunch. "I…I…" She left it and ran from the roof. _I don't know if I truly want help or not!!_ she screamed in her head. _There are so many things that could go wrong if I asked for help or if I didn't!! I don't want to go through this!! I didn't ask for this!! Why can't somebody understand?! Why am I the only one who goes through this?!_

Hikaru stopped and breathed. She wiped her eyes with her sleeve. _Great, _she thought. Without realizing it, she had run off campus. _I'm in big trouble now._ Hikaru sighed, undid her tie, and took off her jacket. _If I'm not careful, the police will stop me if I'm wearing my uniform in the middle of the day._ She groped around in her pocket and felt her wallet. _Oh, yeah. Cut school and go shopping. Real great._

"Hey, honey, you looking for some fun?"

"I don't like the look in her eyes."

"I don't either, but look at that bod. She's real nice."

Hikaru turned around and saw where the voices were coming from. A gang of guys had trapped some girl against a demolished building's last standing wall. They were swarming around the girl, and fast. _I've got to get away from here before they notice me, _Hikaru thought. But she felt something deep down inside her tell her to stay. "She's…She's…"

The guys closed even tighter around the female. "You guys grab her, okay?" the leader said to two others.

Two stepped in front of the girl and moved closer to her, leaving her no way to escape. _She's…she's just like me, _Hikaru forlornly thought. _She can't get away._ The hazel-haired genius drew her breath in. "Leave her alone."

Both the two men and the leader turned around and stopped in front of Hikaru. "Just who the hell do you think you're talking to, girlie?" the leader asked.

Hikaru formed an angry glare and focused it on the leader. "Apparently, an ugly pig that never gets what he wants."

The leader was livid. "Don't think you can talk to me that way, you bitch! Get her!" He motioned the two brutes at Hikaru, but she came right at them! She ducked under one and tripped him. Once she reached the girl, Hikaru grabbed her hand and dragged her behind her.

"Run!!" Hikaru yelled.

The girl did as she was told, but she seemed hesitant at first. The leader and his two lackeys chased them, but they gave up once Hikaru and the girl had melded into the crowd of people on the busy city street. The girls cut across the road to the side of a shop to finally stop.

"Are you okay?" Hikaru asked her.

The girl looked a little annoyed. "Actually, I was going to fight them off if you hadn't butted in. They took something from me."

Embarrassed, Hikaru turned red. "Well, uh, what did they take from you?"

"My locket. It's a white-gold locket. And I need to get it back." The girl turned on her heel to retrieve her locket, but Hikaru stopped her.

"You wait here. I'll go get it back for you." Hikaru smiled warmly to her and briskly left. She returned in a few minutes, locket in hand. "This is it, right?"

The girl was stunned speechless. "Th-Thank you. I-I-"

"It's nothing," Hikaru told her. "What's so special about it, though?" she asked peering over the girl's shoulder as she grasped it in her hands.

"I'm…not really sure myself. I just know that I've had it ever since I was born. It's probably the only thing in my life that doesn't make sense, though."

"Wow." Hikaru whistled. "It must be nice to be so sure of everything else in your life…"

The girl looked at something in her pocket and glanced back up at Hikaru. "I appreciate you getting this back, um…"

"My name's Sorano Hikaru."

The girl smiled a little. "Thank you, Hikaru. You remind so much of someone, but I can't place who. Anyway, I've got to get going. Thank you!" The girl ran off before Hikaru could ask her her name.

_That was so weird,_ Hikaru thought. _I felt like I knew her, too._ The genius shrugged it off and looked at her watch. "It's too late to go back to the school," she commented to herself. "I'll just head home."

"I'm home!" Hikaru called into the house. Strangely, Genji didn't appear. "Genji? You here?"

There was a thump upstairs, and frantic scrambling, like someone had been caught off-guard. Suddenly, Genji came running down the stairs, red-faced and the phone in hand. He stopped when he noticed Hikaru had caught him with it. "Uh! I was just, uh- t-talking to someone…!"

"You don't have to freak out just because you were on the phone," Hikaru stated. Then her eyes lit up. "Unless…it was because you were talking to a girl…" She realized she was right when Genji bashfully turned away from her. "Oh my god! You have a girlfriend! What's her name? What's she like? Have I met her before? She isn't one of the girls you consistently hit on, is she?" Hikaru's eyes turned accusingly on him. "It better not be."

Still blushing, Genji shut his eyes and faced her. "Never you mind, you nosy eavesdropper. I have a private life, too, you know. Speaking of, your bag's over there. Mind telling me why you left school during the middle of the day?"

Hikaru froze. "Well… It's a long story. I didn't even know I did it myself. But I ended up saving this girl and her locket from some gang. I was too fast for them." She feigned a smile, but Genji frowned.

"And what would you have done if they had gotten you, too? For a genius, you can be a real idiot sometimes. Guys on the streets are dangerous, Hika-chan."

"Don't call me that. Besides, you're just as dangerous off the street as you are on, mister."

"Hey! I'm not like _that_!!"

"You know what I mean, Genji. Anyway, I'm tired and I'm going to go take a nap. Make supper and call me down when it's ready, all right? Other than that, don't wake me up for anything else." Hikaru trudged up the stairs to her room and crashed, tired from a day of troubles.

Genji's eyes remained on the stairwell. "She had no right to tease me like that," he mumbled to himself. His face grew hot, though. _Could you really call her my girlfriend?_ Genji smiled. _Not that I mind…_

Miyabi's face was gray, but her expression was cheerful at lunch the next day. "You guys won't believe it," she began. "I've figured it out."

The other three girls all dropped their lunches, mouths agape. Mamoru was the first to speak. "You mean, you found what you were looking for the past month?"

The dark-haired girl nodded. "But I want to tell you guys later, where no one can stumble on us. We should meet at one of our houses, but it can't be mine. Mamoru, what about you?"

The taupe-haired girl froze. The thought of them getting to her apartment and stumbling upon Takeyuki made her queasy since they still didn't know about the living arrangements. "Uh, actually, not mine, either. Kako?"

Kako shook her head, her pigtails hitting her in the face. "My dad is having an interview at home, so we obviously can't go there." She turned to Hikaru. "What about your house?"

Hikaru shrugged as she stuck a forkful of food into her mouth. "I'm pretty sure Genji will be out on some date with his girlfriend in the afternoon, so we can crash at my place."

Mamoru and Miyabi looked at Hikaru. "You have a brother?!" they said in unison.

Kako tuned out the rest of the conversation. All she had heard was the 'girlfriend' part. Her hands went limp by either side of her bento. _He has…a girlfriend?_ she thought. The whole world seemed to crash around Kako in an instant. _Was he just toying with me?_ Then Kako remembered hearing some rumors about 'Slick Sorano'. She sighed. _Of course. He's a womanizer._ Kako's dark raspberry eyes dulled. _Why did I ever think I was special to him?_

"Kako! Kako!!" Hikaru stuck her face in Kako's. "You there?"

The pink-haired shrimp jumped back into reality. "Huh? Oh, yeah! Sure!"

"Then we'll meet at Hikaru's house on Saturday," Miyabi stated. The bell rang and the girls cleaned up, but Kako lagged behind this time.

_I think I'll go to class this time,_ Kako thought to herself. She looked up and realized that the others had already left; she was alone on the roof. Even though she really felt like breaking down and crying, Kako knew she had to get a move on before Genji showed up. But that was the problem. He was already at the door.

Kako's heart nearly stopped. Her eyes met Genji's as he stepped out onto the roof. She bit her lip as she decided. _I'll just make my way past him,_ she told herself. Kako clutched her bento to her chest and strode towards him.

"Hey, Kako-chan," he said, lifting his hand to wave to her. But she passed him. Genji froze. _What was that about? She acted like I wasn't even here!_ Quickly, he turned around and called to her as she reached the bottom of the first flight of steps. "Kako, wait-!!"

"Leave me alone!" she screamed at him. She stopped and seemed to think for a second. "I have to go to class now!" Then she ran on, not saying anything more.

Genji felt the urge to run after her, but he couldn't. His feet were glued to the ground. _Even if I had caught her, _he thought, _I wouldn't be able to console her because I don't know what's bugging her. …DAMN IT!!_ He felt so torn inside; he wanted to help her, but he didn't want to do or say something wrong and end up hurting her any more. For the first time in his life, Genji felt powerless. All the other girls had been nice one-shot dates, but Kako…Kako was so different. He could talk with her and have fun just being around her, but something made her so difficult to catch. Brow furrowed, Genji crouched on the ground, his face red and heart pounding. _She's not different, she's special. That's why._ And so, he sat there, wondering when he fell so hard for the pink-haired shrimp, or when he had ever fallen so hard for anyone.

Getting through the whole week while trying to avoid Genji and waiting for Saturday to come was more straining than Kako had realized. But she couldn't bear to face him. It hurt so much that he had kept something like that from her.

The other girls didn't notice anything wrong at all, though. Mamoru was busy thinking of how to tell her friends about their ex-teacher/her boyfriend. Hikaru was lost in thought half of the time, trying to place the girl's face with a name. And Miyabi… Well, Miyabi was a different story.

"If you keep going like this, you may be the best swimmer our school's ever seen in its lifetime."

Miyabi smiled faintly to her coach. "Um, yeah."

The coach smiled back. "I can't believe how focused you are. It's like you're one with the water."

"S-Sure… Uh, I'll go shower now. I'm not feeling too well, coach."

"Will you be all right for the meet tomorrow?"

Miyabi smiled. "Of course." The dark-haired girl disappeared into the locker-room to get changed, but found that she had little energy to do anything at all. She leaned against her locker door and gazed into the mirror. _It seems to have a friend,_ she thought, touching the bruise on her neck Hikaru had noticed a long time ago, but there was another one right next to it now. Miyabi sighed. _It's gotten worse…_

"Do you mind if I talk to you for a sec?" a voice asked from behind.

The normal form of Sailor Styx whipped around and saw Mamoru behind her. "Oh, Mamoru-! Uh, s-sure."

Mamoru stayed where she was. "Miyabi-chan, something's been bugging me for a little while now," she began. "We're all worried about Hikaru-chan, but…you seemed… I don't know. I guess you seemed a little too worried. Is something wrong?"

"N-no, everything's fine."

"Sure it is." Mamoru brushed her hair back with her hand. "Look, if you ever decide that you want to talk, just let me know. I'm here to listen." She looked Miyabi in the eye. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

Miyabi quivered slightly. "There…_is_ someone I want to talk to," she mumbled to herself.

"What did you say?"

Miyabi shook her head. "Never mind. Don't worry about me; I'm fine, but thanks for worrying." Miyabi turned back to her locker and she heard Mamoru leave. _There's only one problem: the one who I want to talk to isn't here anymore._

Finally, Saturday had arrived. Kako got up, showered, and dressed, ready for the meeting. As she came downstairs for breakfast, her father paused making food and displayed a rather annoyed expression on his face.

Kako realized something was wrong. As she sat down at the kitchen table and picked up her fork and knife for the pancakes, she sighed. "Is something the matter, Dad?"

"You tell me," he said. He looked her straight in the eye and frowned. "I've heard you've been cutting classes lately. And quite a lot, too. I know why, Kako."

The girl felt nauseous. Kako's throat went dry and felt like it was lined with sandpaper. "Look, Dad, I-"

He shushed her and hugged her. "You should've told me that you were still upset about Mama's death. If you had, I wouldn't have pushed you into starting the school year with everyone else. I would've asked if you could've started later. I just wish you would let me know what's going on with you. You worry me."

Even in her father's arms, Kako felt so guilty and so alone. She quickly pulled away and dashed to the front door. "I'll- uh, I'll be at a friend's house today," she hastily shouted as she stepped over the threshold. But she didn't go to Hikaru's house.

"I'm sorry to bother you, miss, but- would you like to order something?" The waitress was careful with her words considering the state her customer was in.

The pink-haired shrimp dried her eyes. "I'm sorry. I'll have a milkshake, thank you. To go."

The waitress nodded. "I'll be right back with it and the receipt."

As the waitress left, Kako seeped back into her thoughts. _I should be okay since Genji's going to be out. It'll be fine if it's the girls and me. I can handle it. I know I can._ The scene with her father came floating back and she sank in her seat. _God. Even my own father didn't realize what was really going on with me. Maybe I should drop the face…_

The waitress returned with the milkshake and Kako paid her. As the pink-haired shrimp exited the restaurant, milkshake in hand, she made her way to Hikaru's house. Kako downed the rest of the drink and gathered all her courage to ring the doorbell. _Whew!_ Kako thought. _That was easy enough._

"Oh, hey, Kako-chan." Genji stood in the doorway while all the blood drained from Kako's face.

_Think! Think!!_ "Uh, the other girls and I were meeting Hikaru today. I-Is she here?" Kako fumbled clumsily.

"She left a little while ago, but she said she'd be back soon." Genji motioned to Kako. "Do you want to come inside and wait here?" he asked.

Kako's heart raced. "I-I guess so…" She felt her face grow hot as Genji closed the door behind her. _Wh-Why am I so self-conscious all of a sudden?!_ She sat down on one of the couches in the living room and exhaled slowly.

Genji went to the fridge in the kitchen and grabbed a soda. "You want something to drink?"

"Uh! S-Sure!!"

The twin watched Kako's body language carefully. _Why's she so self-conscious all of a sudden?_ He shrugged the thought off and tossed her one of Hikaru's Snapples. "Heads up!"

Kako caught the drink and tried twisting the cap off, but her hands were trembling too badly for her to even get a good grip on the bottle. Genji came up behind her and lifted it out of her hands to open it.

"Here," he said, handing it back to her. She took it and drank deeply as he joined her on the couch. "There's something I've been wanting to tell you for a while now, Kako," he started.

_Great,_ Kako thought, _now I'm gonna here he has a girlfriend from him._ She sighed. "Look, I know what you're going to say. Really, I'm not against it, but, personally, I think…I think I'm a little hurt."

Genji looked at her quizzically. "So you don't-"

"I'm not finished. If this is how things are going to be, then I'm going to stop skipping class. We shouldn't meet secretly any more. I mean, what would people think?"

"Kako, I-"

Kako blathered on. "Look, Genji, you're a nice guy, but you should stop the womanizing act. Your girlfriend won't like it."

"What the hell are you talking about?!" Genji was finally able to meet Kako's eyes, and finally able to get a word in. "What girlfriend?"

"I heard from Hikaru that you had a girlfriend," Kako quickly stated. She shifted her gaze onto the ground. "I just don't think we should meet any more."

Genji rolled his eyes. "I have no girlfriend, Kako." He paused as something hit him. "Why would you care if I had a girlfriend? Aren't we just friends?"

Kako's heart jumped into her throat. He had caught her in a tight spot again!! Red-faced, she answered him. "I-I- Well, you see, I think-"

He edged closer to her. "You think what?" Genji's face was so close to hers, like the time from before when he and Kako had first met on the roof. There was less and less room between them as he filled that gap.

The shrimp felt her body turn to butter as he got closer. She caved. "I think of you all the time…," she mumbled. She hid her face in his chest. Genji had stopped moving closer as he cradled the girl in his arms. "I can't help it," she continued. "I felt so relaxed every time I met you, every time I saw your face." Tears streamed from Kako's eyes as she still avoided Genji's face. "I felt…special to you and I didn't realize what it was that I felt, or that I could be wrong about you and-" But that was all Kako was going to be able to say. At once, Genji crushed his lips on hers, sitting her up a little to meet him. His lips didn't feel alien, though; Kako knew that once his lips touched hers, that everything was right- everything _felt_ right, but the situation called for her to pull away. "What are you doing?!" she cried, even though the answer was painfully clear. "You don't even-"

"I don't even what?!" Genji's eyes pierced hers and she was frightened silent. "You've misunderstood too much and I want to clear it all up," he added quietly, to calm the both of them down. "Hikaru came home a few nights ago when we were talking on the phone…"

"Wait. That was when you hastily said you had to go," Kako interjected.

Genji nodded. "I rushed downstairs to put the phone back on its receiver because I didn't want Hikaru to find out about you and me because of the…situation you're in. She jumped to conclusions, stating that I finally had a girlfriend. Hikaru teased me and eventually left me alone when she went to sleep, but…it got me thinking, 'Could I really call her my girlfriend? Not that I mind, because, after all, I fell under her spell'." He looked Kako squarely in the eye. "I don't want you to feel terrible any more, especially over anything because of me." Genji touched her hair and held it close to his nose so he could sniff her scent. "I want to be the one who is always there to protect you. I…want to be your boyfriend, Kako. You're so different and special and you…you made me fall hard for you. Not that I mind that, of course," he added with a smile. He turned serious once more. "I love you, Kako, and I'm not letting you get away from me."

His hot breath in her ear and on her neck made her crazy. But…the good crazy. You know, the kind of crazy you get with a really cheery, crazy best friend and you're kind of loner who likes the color black. That crazy. Anyway, Kako knew things would be better from now on and would only get better as time passed…and as she stayed with Genji. Slowly, she slipped her arms around his neck and drew him in for another kiss, allowing him to push her down on the couch a little. She looked in his eyes. "I wouldn't even think of trying to get away from you," she said.

Genji smiled. "Good." His kissed her again and again until minutes had passed. And then-

"You know, you coulda told us you were going out," Hikaru said at the door.

Both Kako and Genji sat bolt upright. "Uh," Kako squeaked. "I-"

"Didn't one of the girls call you to tell you we were meeting at the café? I came back to see if you were here, but…" Hikaru whistled at the sight of her brother and Kako. "I didn't quite expect to find this. Anyway, we're going to Mamoru's tomorrow to talk. I hope you don't get side-tracked again, shrimp," Hikaru called down the stairs as she headed up to her room, leaving Genji and Kako alone once again.

Neither Kako nor Genji could think clearly. "I-I should probably get going," Kako commented after a minute of awkward silence.

Genji stood and walked her to the door. He bent down a little and kissed the top of her head. "I'm sorry," he said with a halfhearted smile. "I'll see you at school."

Kako smiled. "I know." She yanked on his shirt collar and drew him down for one more quick smooch on the lips and then she left, much happier than when she had arrived.

Miyabi was walking home as she remembered a time when things weren't so bad for her. _I still remember his guitar style,_ she thought. _And those lyrics…_

"'Don't call me if you love me. Seeing you is the only way I'll live. You're the only one…my life, I'd give.'"

Miyabi dropped her bag. Her eyes went blank. _Those words…_ In front of her stood another teenager, one she knew all too well. His bleach-blonde hair with its golden streaks were unforgettable, especially with those big, black eyes. He faced her and, smiling, placed his headphones around his neck.

"I promise I won't ever call you 'Sis' again," he said to her.

She nearly had a heart attack as her hands covered her mouth. "Harume!" Suddenly, there was a shriek behind the two of them. Something flew by Miyabi and she landed on her rear. She looked ahead of her and saw this monster of a bird- literally. "What is that?"

"Yabi-chan!!" Harume yelled. He lunged and covered her as the bird dove again.

"Amaranthine Wail!"

Just as the bird was screeching again, it exploded in front of Miyabi and Harume. Miyabi looked at the top of the brick wall and recognized the outfit of the silhouetted figure. The girl stood up straight and stretched her arms. "Damn. Another one goes to pieces." She seemed to realize that Miyabi was staring at her. "What? You've seen others like me. Don't forget to pick up your brooch."

"Who says?!" Miyabi shouted to the girl.

"Sailor Cocytus." And with one quick turn of her high heel, Cocytus was gone.

_Sailor Cocytus?!_ Miyabi echoed in her head. She picked up her brooch and carefully looked it over. _Then I was right…_ Miyabi looked to her right at Harume and crimsoned. "Oh! Uh, I-"

His eyes went straight to her brooch. "A lot's changed about you, Yabi-chan," he said. "You mind telling me how you know her?"

"I don't really!" she stated as he lifted her up. "You see, quite a few things-"

"If you have a brooch that's similar to hers, then you're like her, aren't you?" he asked. Harume realized he was right when she didn't answer. "You've got a lot of explaining to do, Yabi-chan." He picked up his guitar and handed her her bag.

Miyabi took her school bag and furrowed her brow. "So do you, Haru. Like- why are you back here when you don't have a roof over your head?"

"I found my parents." Harume saw Miyabi stiffened a little. "I'm back now, and I won't be leaving any time soon, Miyabi."

The girl was frozen, but with happiness. She couldn't believe it! _Then we are-!_ Miyabi turned around and shoved him against the wall nearby, kissing him, hard. She pulled away and let her head droop. "Let's go somewhere. I…I want to hear it all."

Harume smiled. "Sure."


	8. Hiruno Harume

**Pandora's Senshi**

A Sailor Moon Spin-off Fanfiction

By mew-tsubaki

Note: Ha-HA! This time, I have copyright power over these characters because their MY OWN! (Woo-hoo!) Anyway, I want to give some credit to Naoko Takeuchi-sensei, though, because I used the original names she had planned for the Sailor Moon characters (Sorano Hikaru, Yoruno Miyabi, Chino Mamoru, and Artemis; only Amano is hers- I came up with Kako), and the original scouts (Moon through Saturn) are hers. By the way, I know that the senshi names (Phlegethon, Cocytus, Styx, Acheron, and Lethe) come from rivers in Hades (I read it somewhere) and have nothing to do with Pandora's Box, but read on to discover what they're really about. - Don't forget: READ, REVIEW, AND ENJOY!! P.S.- the Artemis in this fanfic isn't the same as the cat-turned-human Artemis from the original series. She's someone completely different. Also, the other senshi will not be making anymore appearances. It's original from here on out.

Chapter Eight: Hiruno Harume

"So you're telling me that you go around fighting crime in a miniskirt?"

Miyabi feigned a smile. "Heh…yes. But, the thing is, there are three other girls with the same job as me. Well, four now." Miyabi scritched her cheek with her index finger. "I'm actually waiting to tell the girls the history behind it tomorrow…" She felt a warm hand on her shoulder. "Harume…?"

He smiled tenderly at her. "Then I'll be there to here it tomorrow, too. You're not going to be doing anything dangerous without me in the know." He slipped his hand off her shoulder and drank his hot chocolate.

The dark-haired girl smiled to herself as she watched his eyelids close. _His eyelashes are so long…_

"You're staring at me… So, you still have what I came for, right?" Harume gazed into her eyes. "I've never forgotten about you, not for one second, Miyabi."

Miyabi blushed. "I-I-" She melted under his look. _Of course I have what he came back for,_ she thought. _I don't think I could have loved anyone else… _"I know," she said quietly, a smile on her face. "I haven't forgotten about you, either."

Pain hit Harume. "They still don't treat you right, do they?" he asked. He pointed to her neck, which she hastily covered up. "You've got to stop protecting them, Miyabi. They have no right to vent their troubles on you."

"But they're my family!" Little droplets escaped her eyes, catching several customers' attention. She quickly dried her eyes. "I'm sorry," she apologized, "but I'm sure they don't mean it."

Harume glared at her. "Don't forget that they were my family for a few years, too, Miyabi. I know them for who they really are. This has been going on for years, and I'm not there to protect you anymore. If you don't do something, I will." Both were silent for a moment, one tense and the other fuming.

"I know, it's just…" She sighed heavily.

He smiled at her again, but more softly this time. "I'm sorry. I'm not here to pressure you or add to your troubles, I'm here to help you along." Harume glanced at his watch. "I have to get home now, otherwise Mom will start freaking out again. She's been like that ever since we found each other. Dad keeps telling her to get over it, though." The blonde gathered his things and stepped out of the booth. "I'll, uh, see you…soon." When Miyabi gave him a puzzled look, all he did was give her a quick peck on her cheek, and then he was gone.

_Huh…_ Miyabi watched his figure disappeared into the coldness of the snowfall outside. _I'm glad he's back._ She sipped her chamomile tea until it was gone, paid the waitress, and left to a dreaded place worse than hell: her house.

"Well, I think I'm ready for this now," Mamoru affirmed loudly.

Takeyuki sighed. "You're kidding, right? We've been living together for almost two whole months now and _now_ you're going to tell them that?" He slipped his arms around Mamoru's slim waist and sighed again, resting his chin on the top of her head. "I'll be at the bookstore. Call me if you need me all right?"

"Of course." Mamoru and Takeyuki shared in a brief kiss and then he left. _Sometimes, it feels like we're playing house…,_ she thought. The doorbell rang and she rushed to let Kako and Hikaru in. "Hey, guys. Is Miyabi coming separately?"

Hikaru had a big grin painted on her face as Kako followed behind, red-faced and glaring at her. "Miyabi isn't one to pay attention to right this second. Kako is, though. Go on. Why don't you tell Mamoru what I saw you doing?"

Kako turned an even deeper shade of red. "Look you little-!" Hikaru shoved her hand in Kako's face to shut her up.

"She was sucking face with my brother on the couch when I got home!!" Hikaru spilled. "They pulled away fast enough to get whiplash when I made myself present. It was hilarious!!" Even at this point, Hikaru still couldn't control her laughter, and she burst out laughing.

Mamoru smiled at Kako. "Aw, you like him! That's so cute! I'm glad you have a boyfriend, Kako-chan." Just then, some odd dialogue was going on outside of the apartment door.

"Come on, just one kiss. Then I'll be able to stay awake during this little meeting of yours," the male voice said.

The other voice was obviously Miyabi's. "N-no! I'm here strictly on business. If you wanted to tag along, then you shouldn't have overslept and then run to my house in hopes of catching up with me, you idiot! Hey!! Watch your hands!!"

"But if I don't get a kiss, your big brother won't feel like protecting you," the male whined.

"Quit it!!!"

Mamoru finally opened the door. "Glad to see you could join us, Miyabi." She looked at the guy who had his arms wrapped around Miyabi's waist. "Miyabi's…brother, was it?"

Miyabi crimsoned. "No, no! It's only a joke! I swear he didn't mean it!"

"Well, technically, it was true at one point of our lives," the male interjected, but he quickly shut up when Miyabi clobbered him.

The taupe-haired girl pulled Miyabi aside. "Why did you bring someone along?" she asked, whispering.

Miyabi bit her lip. "That's something else… He knows." When she received an accusing look from Mamoru, she explained. "I didn't transform in front of him, if that's what you're thinking. But…Sailor Cocytus made an appearance." She met Mamoru's shocked eyes and nodded. "Let's get this on with." Miyabi and Harume stepped into the nice apartment and looked all around.

"So," Harume began as the girls sat down in the living room, "where does your boyfriend sleep?"

Mamoru blushed as all eyes turned to her. "Uh! I-I'm sorry…?!"

Harume pointed to the box of vitamins on the kitchen table. "Those are men's vitamins."

The writer clenched her fist. "That idiot, Takeyuki…!" Then she realized what she had said. "Oh, yeah. I was going to tell you guys sooner or later."

Hikaru grunted. "While we're telling secrets, is there anyone else who has something they'd like to share?"

"Why don't we get down to what I've been trying to tell you guys for a few days now?" Miyabi commented. The other girls quieted down as the spotlight was cast on her now. "Anyway, when we first met, I noticed something about our names. 'Sailor' sounded familiar to me. I looked through my books and textbooks to see if I could find it there, but I had no luck with any of it. Then I asked my grandmother."

"Wait," Harume cut in, "wasn't she moved into a home?"

Miyabi nodded. "That's why it took me a little while. No one in my family told me where they had shipped her off to. But I _did_ locate the home and I went there. She was in a kind of trance when I got there, but her words proved to be worth more than anything I could've found in a textbook.

"When I saw her, her eyes lit up and she smiled at me, but…she kind of freaked me out. I sat near her and she started going on about how the balance has been tipped in the favor of the dark ones. I gripped her hand so she would focus on me and I asked her if the word 'sailor' meant anything to her."

"What if she had mentioned something like a sailor on a boat?" Kako asked. "It could've been a waste of a trip."

Miyabi shook her head. "But it wasn't. When she heard 'sailor', her eyes flew wide open and she gasped. She started telling me that we had no protection anymore, unless…"

"Unless what?" Mamoru inquired.

"Unless the last senshi were awakened. I asked her what 'senshi' were and she smiled. She told me about the queen of her past. I think she called her 'Neo Queen Serenity'. Anyway, this queen had amazing and healing powers way before she was queen. She used to be Sailor Moon, a 'champion of justice', so to speak. Sailor Moon had these guardians, one from each planet. There was Sailors Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Venus, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, and Saturn. Her husband was the prince of the earth, Endymion, and her daughter, Chibiusa, was Princess Lady Serenity. Those three ruled the Crystal Age, or, the previous century.

"I was pretty sure that we tied in with it somehow, so I showed my grandmother my brooch. She touched it and became grim suddenly. She said that now is the time of peril, that the last senshi were awakened. She said that neither the queen, princess, Pluto, or Saturn must exist anymore, and the earth is going to be reborn again."

"But," Hikaru cut in, "in order for something to be reborn, it has to die first." Her eyes went blank as she realized the meaning behind the word's definition. "We're going to destroy the planet…!"

A sickening feeling spread throughout the room, settling in the pit of everyone's stomach. No one spoke. Life outside the window seemed to stop. No birds fluttered by or chirped, and the city was bizarrely still. Miyabi looked outside and everything seemed fine once again.

"But…she may be sick," Miyabi commented, trying to lift the gloom in the room. She chuckled to herself a little. "As much as I love her and would hate to admit, she's old. Memory deteriorates over time. She could have made the whole thing up."

"And yet…it would make sense, what with us getting these powers suddenly," Mamoru muttered. "Maybe we should take it slower now that we almost know what we're dealing with. I know I want to." Kako seconded the motion, followed by Hikaru. Miyabi stood still, the fake grin painted on her face as her eyes saddened. She wasn't sure whether or not to agree with them. Reluctantly, she glanced down at her watch.

"Oh! Look at that!" Miyabi said. She smiled to Mamoru. "Thanks for having me over, but I've got to get going now. I'll see you guys tomorrow." She rushed out of the room before anyone could stop her.

Harume furrowed his brow as he realized that Miyabi was hurting. "It was nice to meet you all," he said. "See you soon." He, too, left, but only to chase after Miyabi.

Hikaru whistled. "So, what do you think of those two? I kinda want to know the history…"

_Maybe I shouldn't have said anything,_ Miyabi thought as she settled down into her desk. _I scared them pretty badly…_ She sighed as the teacher talked about something boring. _Can't we just start class already?_

"…and so, please welcome your new classmate, Hiruno Harume, who just transferred here."

Squeals from the girls erupted into giggling and such as he walked into the room. Miyabi, who could not believe her ears, looked up and couldn't believe her eyes. It really was Harume! And he, of course, took his seat right next to Miyabi.

"Hiya!"

"Don't 'hiya' me, you jerk. You could've told me you were coming here," Miyabi stated bitterly, but red-faced.

Harume frowned. "I meant it as a surprise." He turned his frown upside down. "Come on, Yabi-chan! Be happy!"

She felt like throttling him in the middle of class as she received unwanted attention from the boys and girls alike. The guys were jealous of Harume and the girls… Well, let's just say that the nicest thing they were thinking about doing to Miyabi was ripping her throat out and jumping rope with it. Yeah.

"What?! You're in the same class?!"

Harume beamed while Miyabi glumly nodded her head. She plopped another tuna roll sushi in her mouth. "It even ruins my favorite food. And you guys don't know how much I love sushi."

"But I do." Harume smiled at her, which made her blush, so she turned away from him. "Anyway, I was thinking I could be of some use to you guys. You know, when you're out fighting the baddies."

"Uh, no. You don't have any powers. You'll get killed. Whether or not it's by my hand or your stupidity, you'll get killed," Miyabi pointed out so kindly.

"Don't you think you're being a little mean, Miyabi-chan?" Kako asked.

"Nope." Another sushi went into her mouth.

"So," Hikaru started, "how do you two know each other?"

Miyabi wasn't going to answer, but Harume jumped at the chance. "Actually, her parents adopted me while we were both in diapers. We grew up together."

There was an odd pause. Miyabi looked at each of the girls. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, nothing," the genius said, "it's just a little gross to find out that you're dating your brother."

"He's not my brother!" Miyabi, blushing, figured she might as well tell the story instead. "Yeah, we grew up together. But…we both realized we liked each other. A lot. Also, he was really protective of me and-" Miyabi froze. "Well, I'll just say that…he's protected me from a lot of things. Anyway, my parents got rid of him and he told me he was going to look for his parents, who he found quite recently. So, now you see. He's not my brother. He was just teasing me that time."

While each of the girls felt like they were missing out on a huge part of the story, none of them pressed for the rest. They just continued their lunch and talked about other things instead.

"Why'd you bring it up?"

Harume followed close behind Miyabi as she angrily stormed ahead. "I didn't bring it up."

"Maybe you didn't, but you also didn't have to say anything to them."

"And how was I supposed to know that you didn't tell them about the abuse?" Harume caught Miyabi by the wrist as she reeled around to slap him. "I wouldn't do anything to hurt you, Miyabi. You know that."

She started crying again as she slumped in his arms. "That's the thing. I know that. I know you would never hurt me. I'm…I'm just looking for…" Miyabi bit her tongue; she couldn't say it. But she didn't have to.

"What? You're looking for someone to blame, am I right?" His eyes gazed into hers, but she felt like he was looking right through her. Why did he have to be right time and time again?

Slowly, she nodded. Harume clung Miyabi even closer to his chest and she finally started to calm down. That was the other thing she loved so much about him: he could always make things feel right, feel better. After a minute of the stand-alone embrace, Miyabi pulled away just a little. "I'm sorry," she mumbled. Harume just smiled as they continued walking. Then, they pulled up on her street. "Wait a minute," she said. "Don't you live in the other direction, Haru?"

Harume blushed. "Uh, well, y-yes, but- I gotta go!" He quickly kissed Miyabi and ran for home.

Gradually, Miyabi turned red. _Could he have walked me home because he wanted to make up…?_ she thought. Miyabi halfheartedly smiled to herself. _Make up, make out…it's all the same to him._ Miyabi headed into her house, but on a lighter note this time around.

Well, it had been three months now. Three months of what, you may ask? Three months of the girls chasing down baddies. Two months of Takeyuki and Mamoru (who celebrated her eighteenth birthday with Takeyuki and friends a month ago) living together. Two months of Kako and Genji officially being boyfriend and girlfriend. A month and a half of Harume being in Miyabi's class at Azusa Yomi Municipal High. Things were going nicely, even though Cocytus hadn't made any more appearances and the girls hadn't figured out any truth behind Miyabi's grandmother's story. Although, Miyabi seemed undecided about Harume. Yes, she loved him and he loved her, but…she found herself always saying 'but'. And those 'but's turned into 'what if's, which bothered Harume, as well as Miyabi's collection of bruises and scrapes.

"Just let me talk to them," he pleaded.

Miyabi shook her head. "There's nothing to talk to them about. Even if there was, you…know as well as I do that it wouldn't change anything. I'm gonna be late for swimming if I don't hurry. Bye, Harume!" And then she ran off, leaving Harume with no idea of what else to say. This went on for the rest of the month until the next one came and, even in February's cold, the only coldness he felt came from Miyabi. The girls noticed Miyabi's treatment of him, but none of them felt they could say anything to her, even if they knew _what_ to say.

Finally, March arrived. The only festivity that had happened was Kako's sixteenth birthday back on February fifteenth, which neither Miyabi nor Harume attended, even though Harume had become a close friend to each of the other girls. It rained on and off each day in March, but it was one particular rainy day that was horrifying.

It was on this particular day that Harume had arrived before Miyabi, which was something out of the ordinary since she always swam in the school's pool before first period started. Already, he was worried. And then, it came.

"Oh, my god! Is that Miyabi-sempai?!"

"She's looks like she's limping!"

Other cries and shouts came from the group of freshman and sophomores that had gathered at the windows in the hallway to see it. There Miyabi was, limping, just as a freshman had figured. When Miyabi finally reached her and Harume's classroom, she was targeted by a horde of questions. And yet…that wasn't what Harume was so worried about. Something about Miyabi's right eye seemed odd…

"Are you sure you should've swum today?" one of Miyabi's teammates asked her.

Miyabi clenched her fist tight. "Of course! We have a tournament coming up! I can't back down now! I've got to keep it together!!"

"Sure, sure. Just remember that we have a test in biology tomorrow, so make sure you study tonight, Yoruno-san."

"Ah!" Miyabi stopped short. "I forgot my textbook!"

"Of course…"

"I'll just double-back and get it. Don't wait for me, okay? Thanks for reminding me. I'll see you tomorrow!" Miyabi hurried back to her classroom, quiet as a mouse. _I hope I don't get in trouble for coming back to the classroom, _she thought. She fumbled with the door. _It's not locked, is it?!_ Finally, the door gave way and Miyabi went over to her desk. "Here it- Wait, that's math." She looked in her desk and checked her bag. "Where's biology…?"

"Looking for this?"

_That voice…_ Miyabi slowly turned her head around and discovered who she had been dreading: Harume. She furrowed her brow. "You didn't take that just to get me here, did you?" she asked.

Harume sighed. "I thought I could make you listen if I got you alone." He propped himself against the teacher's desk as she neared him. "I hope you will listen."

Miyabi had had it. "Look, we both know it's been going on for years. Don't you think I would've done something if I could've? Things are different now, too, considering what you're thinking of would get you sent to jail- again!"

Harume pursed his lips in silent protest. "Weren't you told that I was arrested by you father?" he asked quietly.

Her anger cooled down a bit. "Yes… Why do you ask?"

"Did he ever tell you _why_ I was arrested?"

Miyabi froze as she realized that her family had tricked her again. Her throat clogged up. She wasn't sure she was going to like what she was going to hear.

Harume met her eyes. "Remember that first major swim tournament you had? Didn't it seem odd that your mother and sister took you out for a long drive and ice cream afterwards?"

Slowly, Miyabi materialized the scene. She had just won her first tournament. Mother and Sissy were smiling, but Mother's smile hid a deeper meaning, one Miyabi couldn't recognize. They drove for what felt like an hour. And then…they pulled up on an ice cream shack. Surely, she was being rewarded for first place. She just wished that Haru could be with her to help her celebrate. Miyabi turned back to Harume. "What are you getting at?"

"He called the cops on me, claiming I was a juvenile delinquent who just attacked him out of the blue. I did attack him with that lamp in the living room…," Harume confessed nonchalantly, "but only because he came after me first. _That's_ why you were… What did they call it? Oh, right. _Rewarded._"

Miyabi felt like her heart was going to stop. How could she have never known this?! Yes, she knew all about how abusive her father, mother, and sister could be, but…she had no idea her father had tried to molest Harume!! She was so scared now, not knowing how she could've stayed under their roof for so long, allowing them to hurt her…and Harume. …They came on their own. One by one, tiny droplets fled from her eyes. Her hands shook as she covered her mouth. _I didn't know! I didn't know!! I didn't know!!!_

Harume caressed the side of Miyabi's face. He gently touched the area near her right eye and she winced. "I was right," he thought aloud. "You used some concealer, right?" Miyabi didn't have to answer him, though. As her tears ran down her cheeks, it smudged the make-up, revealing a black eye. "Damn it!" he cursed under his breath.

"I…I want to get out of there, Haru," she choked. "But I can't. I can't leave because I have nowhere to go. It's hopeless." Miyabi's hand gripped Haru's shirt. "Save me…," she sobbed.

Harume embraced her for several moments while the sun set outside. The same blood red sun that told him what he would do next, after he left the school for that day.

Miyabi finally stopped crying and wiped her eyes, smudging the make-up even more. She giggled. "Heh, looks like trying to hide it was pretty useless…" But the tears welled up in her eyes again. "I hate all of this crying…"

The bleach-blonde looked her over. He couldn't stand to see her this way, either. Gently, he gripped her shoulder and kissed her. Miyabi didn't protest, though; it was exactly what she needed. And so, against the lovely and foreboding backdrop of the blood red sun, they shared in their first French kiss. And all was right. Well, almost.

"Miyabi-chan! Miyabi-chan!!" Kako clonked Miyabi on the head. "Miyabi-chan!!"

Finally, the dark-haired girl snapped out of her daydream. "What the heck was that for?!"

"Eh, just making sure you're here on earth with us." Kako took another bite out of her teriyaki chicken sandwich. "Mm…teriyaki…"

Miyabi laughed to herself at the sight. She was much more comfortable now with her friends now that things had cleared up between her and Harume. She blushed as she thought about her future wedding. _It'll be to Harume, of course…_

"So," Mamoru said. "Gold again, huh? We may have a mermaid on our hands, guys."

"Duh. I could've already told you that," Hikaru snidely commented. Mamoru glared at her. Miyabi laughed out loud and Kako joined in.

"You know what they say about two friends who fight," Harume said. "You two must be the best of friends."

"No, we're not!!" Mamoru and Hikaru said in unison, thus proving Harume's statement. Kako and Miyabi laughed even harder.

It was the weekend and Miyabi woke up early Saturday morning. She made her way downstairs, half awake, but with a bright smile on her face. "Good morning!" she said cheerily. She ignored the nasty looks she received from her family and went straight for the bread and toaster to make herself some toast. _Just ignore them,_ she told herself. _You're happy right now. Don't let them ruin it._

Just then, the doorbell rang. Miyabi's sister ran to get it. Miyabi grabbed a bowl and started pouring her cereal when her sister's voice rang out. "Mom! Dad! Get over here!!"

Both of Miyabi's parents rushed over to the door. Her father drew his breath in. "_You_!!" That's when Miyabi stuck her head out of the kitchen. The spoon dropped from her mouth and hit the ground with an audible _**CLANK!**_ _Harume!_ she thought.

Harume flashed her a peace sign. "Yo, my little river of hate."

Miyabi rushed over to the front door, even thought her mother and father blocked her from getting too close to Haru. Miyabi was shocked, but happily shocked. She tried to move out around her parents, but they still blocked her way. She ignored them and talked directly to Harume. "What on earth are you doing here?"

Harume smiled and held up several empty shopping bags. "Well, I'm not a prince and I don't have a white horse, but I'm charming enough with my white shiny teeth," Harume said, still smiling. "Come on. Let's go get your things."

"What do you mean?" Then Miyabi remembered the little scene between her and Haru after school a little while ago, where she had asked him to save her. Tears welled up in her eye, but she forced them back. He had remembered!

"She's not going anywhere," Miyabi's father said. "Especially anywhere with the likes of you." He met Harume's eyes and glared at Harume as he spat on the ground near the teen's feet.

Harume, on the other hand, ignored it. He pushed his way through Miyabi's family and finally reached the dark-haired girl. "We need to get your things, Yabi-chan."

As Haru pushed her up the stairs to her room, she turned to him. "W-Wait! I need to get dressed," she stuttered as both walked into her bedroom.

The bleach-blonde turned away from her and rummaged through the clothes hanging in her closet. "It's not like there's anything I won't be seeing," he said nonchalantly. "What you're wearing is fine. Just throw some jeans and shoes on."

Miyabi blushed as she watched him take her uniform, fold it, and place it in one of the bags. She went to one of her drawers and pulled out her jeans. _Why am __I__ the only one who's embarrassed here?_ she thought. The dark-haired girl selected a pair of comfy slipper-type shoes. "So, where the heck am I going to stay?" she asked. She slapped on a mischievous smile. "Your place, I presume?"

"Yep." As Miyabi's jaw dropped to the floor, Harume finished filling the bags he had brought. He turned to her. "You should take your school bag, a purse, and a backpack, if you have one. Put anything else you want to take with you into those bags."

"Okay…" Miyabi did as Harume said, but she had another question in mind. "Just how are we going to carry all this stuff to you house? I thought you lived a little over a mile from here."

Harume finally straightened up and gathered the bags. "Actually, I live exactly under a mile from you, but you don't have to worry about a thing. Just leave it all to me."

Mystified by his relaxed attitude, Miyabi followed him out of her room and back to the front door where her family was waiting. _They're the last thing to deal with,_ Miyabi thought uncomfortably. She caught a nasty glare from her sister and quickly turned away.

"She's not going anywhere," her father repeated, like Miyabi and Harume had been standing downstairs the whole time. It felt lie a stand-off between the Yoruno family and the youngest and her boyfriend. Miyabi's mother turned away from her and darted a scared side-glance at her husband. Miyabi's father cleared his throat. "Take your things back up to your room, Miyabi."

The dark-haired girl could feel her stomach steel. Her eyes went blank as she thought of what to say. _Th-This may be my only chance…_

Meanwhile, Miyabi's father was getting impatient. "Well? What are you waiting for? Move it!!"

"No." Both her family and Harume found it hard to believe that Miyabi would talk back, but Haru was glad to see her showing a little backbone.

"What was that?" Everyone in the room could tell that, even though he was trying to sound authoritative, he was just as shocked as the others, including Miyabi herself. "I am the master of this house and you will do as I say. March right up to your room, you little b-" Her father caught himself.

Miyabi felt confidence rising inside. She smirked. "'You little' what?" She watched as her father clenched his fists; it was the only time that anyone had talked back to him! "I'm leaving this house. You're _not_ going to stop me." Miyabi walked past him, but he caught her arm and reeled her around, fist at the ready.

"I don't think so!" Harume stepped in-between and took the hit. Now sporting busted lip, Harume smiled to him. "Not ever again will you touch her," Haru continued. He turned around, put an arm around Miyabi's shoulder, and led her out of the house. "Bye-bye, Mr. Anger-Management." And they shut the door in Miyabi's family's faces.

Once outside, Miyabi saw Hikaru and Mamoru waiting for them. "Wh-What are you guys doing here?!" Each girl took half the bags. "Oh, it's o-okay. Haru and I can carry everything. You don't have to-" But all the girl did was smile mischievously. And then- up she went. But not up into the air- into Harume's arms. "KYAAA!! What do you think you're doing?!"

Harume smiled. "The girls offered to come along and help you…'move'."

"Kako couldn't come because we didn't want her getting recognized and end up with her father in trouble. But," Hikaru said, holding up the bags with Mamoru doing the same, "here we are."

"I really think Haru and I can carry it all, though," Miyabi stated.

"Nonsense," Haru said. "The prince has rescued the princess and now, with the aide of his helpers, he runs away with his love in his arms." At the end of his sentence, the prince and his helpers ran away from the dreaded castle of torture. The wound the prince carried didn't hurt at all. What mattered, though, was that the dragon(s) had been slew and the princess was being carried to safety. All was good, especially in the princess's eyes.


	9. Artemis

**Pandora's Senshi**

A Sailor Moon Spin-off Fanfiction

By mew-tsubaki

Note: Ha-HA! This time, I have copyright power over these characters because their MY OWN! (Woo-hoo!) Anyway, I want to give some credit to Naoko Takeuchi-sensei, though, because I used the original names she had planned for the Sailor Moon characters (Sorano Hikaru, Yoruno Miyabi, Chino Mamoru, and Artemis; only Amano is hers- I came up with Kako), and the original scouts (Moon through Saturn) are hers. By the way, I know that the senshi names (Phlegethon, Cocytus, Styx, Acheron, and Lethe) come from rivers in Hades (I read it somewhere) and have nothing to do with Pandora's Box, but read on to discover what they're really about. - Don't forget: READ, REVIEW, AND ENJOY!! P.S.- the Artemis in this fanfic isn't the same as the cat-turned-human Artemis from the original series. She's someone completely different. Also, the other senshi will not be making anymore appearances. It's original from here on out. P.S.S.- This chapter kind of picks up where seven left off…

Chapter Nine: Artemis

"So…did I tell you guys that my birthday is two weeks from now?" Hikaru bubbly asked.

"YES!!" her friends answered in unison. Mamoru spoke up: "You've been telling all of us since god knows when, Hikaru!"

The genius blinked. "Have I really?"

"Oh, yes. And don't mind that it's _my_ birthday, too," Genji sulked. Kako patted his head. "Dammit…"

"There, there, baby," Kako muttered. "If you want, just the two of us could celebrate."

Genji grabbed her hand. "I'd very much like that," he said suggestively, kissing her hand playfully.

"Get a room, you two," Harume whined. "God, it's barely spring and already it's in the eighties."

Miyabi halfheartedly smiled. "And the weather will sometimes jump around like this. We just have to adapt."

"I'll adapt when I feel like it…!"

Finally, it was the end of the day. Of course, it had not come to pass without Hikaru reminding everyone of her (and Genji's…) birthday fifteen more times. As Hikaru was walking out of the school building, she ran into a…familiar face.

Leaning against Azusa Yomi Municipal High's gates was the silver-haired girl Hikaru had helped a while ago. She saw Hikaru and kicked off the wall, a thin-lipped smile on her face. Her eyes weren't very expressive.

Hikaru felt somewhat nervous. "Uh…hi. Can I help you?"

The girl let through some emotions as she beamed. "I was just hoping to talk to you on your way home," the girl replied.

"O-Okay…" The hazel-haired genius continued walking and the girl joined her by her side. "So…uh, what's your name?"

The girl blinked. "Oh, did I not tell you? Sorry." She held her hand out. "I'm Artemis."

Hikaru shook her hand. "Nice to finally and formally meet you, Artemis. Do you have a last name?"

At that, Artemis faltered. Brow furrowed, she mumbled quietly, "…I…don't know. I don't really know anything about my past."

"I'm sorry. I-I didn't mean to bring up such an uncomfortable subject."

"Nah. It's okay." While Artemis tried to sound fine, though, Hikaru could…really _feel_ that she wasn't. "By the way," she started, changing the subject, "I didn't mean to scare your friend a while ago."

At that, Hikaru was puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"Didn't one of your friends tell you that she saw me?"

"No… No one's mentioned you to me. Besides, why would they say anything about you?"

Artemis fished around in her pocket and revealed a dark silver brooch, with two intersecting light silver boomerangs on it. "I'm sure this set up seems familiar. Your friend dropped hers when I saved her and her boyfriend a while ago. She didn't tell you guys?"

Hikaru stopped walking. "W-Wait. You're a…a sailor, too?"

The silver-haired girl nodded. "Yes. My senshi name is Sailor Cocytus."

"'Sailor…Cocytus'?" Hikaru repeated. "That's the fifth river in Hades! The genius smiled confidently. "So I was right. There are five of us!"

Artemis frowned. "Kinda… You see, you guys have all of your powers, but I'm limited to one attack."

"Why?"

"I'm not so sure myself. All I know is that I have to retrieve my other powers. And soon."

Hikaru thought for a moment. "Then I suppose you wouldn't know anything about our real mission, huh?"

The silver-haired girl shook her head, several wispy layered strands of hair hitting her in the face. "I'm afraid not. All I know is that I have to collect all of my powers and fulfill my mission along with you four."

"Well, this is my house." Hikaru and Artemis stopped in front of the giant two-story building Hikaru and Genji called home. The hazel-haired genius turned to Artemis. "Do you have a place to stay? You could sleep here tonight, if you wanted to."

Just then, Genji came up behind the two. He tapped Hikaru on the shoulder. "Hey, Hika-chan. Who's your friend here?"

As Hikaru yelled at him for calling her 'Hika-chan' again, Artemis stood in the background, her hand covering a gaping mouth. Slowly, it escaped her lips: "…Gen-chan?"

Both Genji and Hikaru turned to Artemis, bewildered expressions displayed on their similar faces. They had definitely heard what Artemis had said.

Blushing, Artemis stuttered, "Uh, I-I have to go. Thanks for extending an invitation, Hikaru, but I'll take a rain check. B-Bye!!" And with that, the girl ran off, her heart pounding so fast in her chest and so loud in her ears that she was sure the rest of the world could hear it.

Genji and Hikaru kept staring at where Artemis had been even after she had rounded the corner. "Had you…told her about me?" Genji asked after another silent minute.

Hikaru shook her head, but she was unsure. "I don't think so. But then again, maybe it slipped my mind and I did." Even though she reassured Genji, Hikaru couldn't reassure herself. _It doesn't add up,_ she thought as she shut the door to her room. The fireplace (which was the only one in the house) was in her room. As she threw in a few logs, Hikaru reviewed the events in her head. _She, too, felt like she knew me. But…would she feel the same way about Genji?_

Suddenly, Hikaru jumped out of her thoughts as the fire spewed flames dangerously close to her. The blaze had almost touched her arm when it veered away like a scared animal. Then it turned black and grew big as if it was ready to engulf her.

Hikaru screamed as it came at her, but as soon as Genji burst into her room, the fire grew tame and resumed its natural color. The genius girl nearly collapsed as her twin brother cradled her in his arms. He rocked her gently and whispered calming shushes into her ear, but Genji's words wouldn't be reaching Hikaru for a while. Her eyes were blank as things screamed in her mind- the vivid picture of a black fire eating her alive terrified her. How could she get away from something that was right in her room? More importantly, _why_ would she have to get away from a strange, black fire?

Meanwhile, on the other side of town, Artemis shut the door to her dusty, dingy apartment. Well, it wasn't _technically_ an apartment. It was more of the ruins of an old hospital room that had gone under years before. But the silver-haired stranger had done an okay job of fixing it up well enough to live in.

Artemis unzipped her gray, hooded sweatshirt and tossed it on the dilapidated couch. As she undid the front of her tank and let it hang open, her eyes fell to her brooch. _Huh…_ She sighed, removed the top and reached for her nightshirt when her locket fell between her breasts. Artemis shivered at the sudden coolness on her skin. Quickly, and almost instinctively, she placed a hand over the white gold spade and gripped it. _Should I try?_ she thought. Ignoring the call of warmth that the nightshirt would give her, Artemis turned the spade over in her hand and read the inscription. Carefully carved in wispy script were the letters h, a, and g, with a period after each. _I highly doubt it's branding me a hag, _she thought. Then Artemis remembered the scene that had played in her head earlier.

She was younger and with two children a little younger than her. They looked so familiar to her, like she had known them all her life. She called to one of them as both the girl and the boy looked at her.

That's when she had called out 'Gen-chan' and startled Hikaru and the boy whom Artemis had guessed to be her brother. Now that Artemis could think clearly, the two somewhat resembled the boy and girl in her memory. She shook her head. _I'm reading too much into this,_ Artemis told herself. She let the locket fall back to her chest as she pulled the nightshirt over her head. _Maybe I'll be able to think straight after a good night's sleep._ With that, Artemis climbed under the cover that were on the cot in the corner of the room and drifted off into a somewhat hellish nightmare.

Several days had passed and nothing too out of the ordinary had happened since that night with the fire. Yet, Hikaru was so scared that she was on edge any time she was near open flame. She had started sleeping in the guestroom of their house just in case the fireplace acted up again. Hikaru also felt somewhat uneasy around Genji, too. Even though he hadn't mentioned anything to her, Hikaru was pretty sure that he suspected something was up and Hikaru didn't want him to find out about the senshi thing. And that was a whole other story.

All of the other girls found it odd that they hadn't been fighting lately. Surely, not all the shadow monsters had been taken care of- but where had they gone? Hikaru wasn't sure whether or not the black fire was related so she didn't mention it to the others, but she didn't have to. The other girls had their own little experiences.

Mamoru drew in a deep breath, smiled, and walked into the bookstore where Takeyuki worked. She made eye contact with him and he plopped some books down to meet her. "How was work?" Mamoru asked. "They don't need you to close, right?"

Takeyuki grinned mischievously and kissed her on the top of her head. "Nah," he said, chuckling to himself slightly, "so I'm all yours tonight."

Just as Mamoru wrapped her arms around his waist, a head popped out from behind a large stack of physics texts. He had chestnut-colored hair that was layered short around the nape of his neck. He obviously hadn't had a trim in a while because his bangs brushed the tops of his wire-rimmed glasses. Slowly, he stood up and his eyes went wide as he watched Mamoru squirm under his gaze. Clearing his throat, he softly stated, "So you're Boss's girl."

Mamoru blushed a little as Takeyuki turned to the effeminate male. "Keita-kun, cut it out! Those magazines won't put themselves away, you know."

Keita straightened up and saluted Takeyuki. "Aye-aye, sir!" And with that, he disappeared into the back of the store.

"Who the hell was that?" Mamoru asked.

"It's more like, '_What_ the hell was that'," Takeyuki stated. "He's one of the two others that work here, Yamazaki Keita. The other one is Hanamori Takako, but today's her day off."

"'Hanamori Takako'?" Mamoru echoed. She frowned. "I hope you're not tempted here at work."

Takeyuki chuckled again. "You're so _cute_ when you're jealous. Ah, to finally wrap my arms around you like this," he said, pantomiming his words, "feels _so_ good."

"That's nice and all, but we've got to get going if you're going to cook dinner tonight. I highly doubt either of us wants fast food for the third night in a row." Mamoru let Takeyuki go so he could get his things. The heels of her boots clacked on the pavement outside as she waited for him. Way off in the distance she could see Fuji-san Mountain. It was a beautiful sight; year-round, the mountain was dazzlingly snow-capped while the citizens changed from heavy winter jackets into tank tops. Although, it wasn't quite tank top weather yet.

Mamoru smiled as she thought of summer vacation. Maybe she and Takeyuki could visit one of the hot springs up there. The taupe-haired girl dreamily opened her eyes to see Fuji-san, but she looked on in horror: Fuji-san was black!

She stumbled backwards and turned around, but she saw that the nearby trees had turned the color of ash as well. _Something's very off,_ Mamoru thought. She moved to head back into the bookstore to stop Takeyuki from coming outside, but Mamoru was frozen. Tree roots had shot up form the ground and grasped her feet and ankles, making it impossible for her to move. A scream welled up deep within Mamoru, but she knew better than to let it out. If Takeyuki came running and the roots shot up to get him and pierced him instead- No, she couldn't think of the worst-case scenario; she had to figure out a way to escape!

Yet, it was easier said than done. As Mamoru pulled on her leg to get it free, the roots tightened around it, cutting into her leg. She winced and grew even more frightened as the nerves in her legs numbed. Numbness wasn't a good sign; if her legs hurt so much that they couldn't feel anything anymore… Even as her vision blurred from the tears, Mamoru forced her eyes open to reveal a shocking sight: everything was back to normal!

Amazed, the taupe-haired girl straightened up and looked all around her. Fuji-san wasn't black anymore and neither was the soil or the trees. And that was another thing: the ground around Mamoru's feet was unharmed as if the trees roots had never shot up and grabbed her legs. She bent down and checked her legs. _No marks…_ The only thing Mamoru felt in her legs was that needles-and-pins feelings.

"Did I miss something?"

Blushing, Mamoru realized that someone was standing over her…and that someone was Takeyuki. She quickly stood up again and mustered a smile. "Oh, no, no. You see, I was just, uh…just…checking to see if my boots were zipped up all the way! That's all!"

Takeyuki eyed her suspiciously for a minute, then softened his looked. "All right. I believe you. Come on," he said, throwing an arm around her shoulder, "let's go home."

"YEAH! YORUNO!!"

"GO, GO, GO!!!"

"YOU'RE THE BEST OUT THERE, YORUNO!!"

"YORUNO- YOU WANT TO BE MY GIRLFRIEND?!"

"NO, YORUNO! GO OUT WITH ME!!"

Harume glared sideways at the large group of male students that had assembled. If Miyabi was anyone's girlfriend, she was his. The bleach-blonde inhaled and-"HEY, YABI-CHAN! WHEN YOU WIN THE RACE, I'LL TAKE YOU OUT FOR SUSHI LATER, OKAY?!" Haru smiled to himself as Miyabi swam even faster. An air horn was sounded in mere seconds. Miyabi smiled at Harume and he smiled back, only to receive his glare back from the male student body. _M-Maybe I should get out of here…_

"I can't believe how hard you push yourself, Yoruno-san," Coach exclaimed.

Miyabi chuckled. "I'm almost done for today. Just a few more laps and then I'll head into the showers. You can go on ahead, Coach." The dark-haired mermaid shooed her coach away with her hands until Miyabi had the pool all to herself. She doggie-paddled to the middle of the pool and pleasantly sighed. _No sounds,_ Miyabi thought, _except for the splashing of the water._

As Miyabi was lost in her oneness with the water, several tides spiraled around her, slowly at first, but they gained speed with each passing second. The girl who doubled as Sailor Styx turned around just in time to see a huge wave rise above and then come crashing down over her head. Miyabi was completely under water!

The dark-haired girl struggled to reach the surface, but the water kept rising and crashing over her head. Miyabi had no idea what was going, on, let alone no idea as to whether or not she could survive.

Just then, a hand dove into the water and groped around until it could get a good grip on Miyabi's swimsuit straps. Up she went and Miyabi choked on the air as she gulped it between gasps. She looked over her shoulder to see Harume, a look of worry on his face, patting her back so she would spit up the rest of the water. "Are you okay?" Haru asked. "It's not like you to start drowning like that."

"It wasn't me!" Miyabi managed.

"_What?!_"

But before she could repeat herself, all of the water in the pool turned ebony. Several threads of liquid shot up and entwined themselves, transforming into a spear of water, which proceeded to harm Miyabi. She shoved Harume out of the way and moved back herself, but the water pierced her right hand, causing Miyabi to utter a shriek of pain. Satisfied that it had finally done some damage to the girl, the water finally died down and resumed its blue color.

Harume stumbled to his knees and cradled Miyabi's hand in his. "It went all the way through," he said sadly. "We need to get you to the nurse's office right away. Are you okay to walk?"

Miyabi's didn't answer. She looked straightforward as she held her hand in front of her eyes. Deep, rich, thick blood oozed from the hole in the middle of her right hand. The girl felt numbness crawl up her arm until she couldn't feel it at all anymore. Overall, she felt cold, but once Harume picked her up in his arms, warmth flooded over her, and she snuggled closer to his damp chest. Yet- would everything turn out all right like before? Or could this be a premonition of what lies ahead?

Kako gulped. "So, you each had a run-in with a black element?" she squeaked.

Hikaru shuddered, then humbly nodded. "It was horrifying. I just wonder why the heck we were attacked." Everyone in the group fell silent. They had taken this opportunity to talk because Genji had a lunch/recess detention, so it was just the girls and Harume.

Harume gently lifted Miyabi's hand and kissed it. "I only wish there was more I could do. For each of you." The rocker teen slumped a little as he clenched his fists. "But maybe I shouldn't have gotten involved _because_ of how little I can do…" Again, no one said anything. What could they say to that? He had stated aloud what everyone in the group already knew to be true.

"So," Hikaru began, trying to lighten the mood a little, "just three days 'til my birthday. Everyone's coming, right?"

A groaned 'yes' swept over the others and the bell rang. They cleaned up their mess and headed for their respective homerooms, chittering about other subjects. When Kako reached her freshman classroom, she swung the door open and sat down at her desk. Everyone else settled down and took out their textbooks. Kako felt lost in the sea of words as someone began to read out loud. She dazedly gazed out the window; it's not like the teacher was going to reprimand her for daydreaming. All of the staff knew about her mother's death, so they let the small things slide most of the time. Of course, it didn't make it right and Kako tried to be good as hard as she could.

Sighing, she moved her eyes away from the window, but wait- what was that? Out of the corner of her eye, Kako identified something that resembled a black-winged, _one­­_-winged angel. Petrified, the shrimp rubbed both of her eyes and looked out for it, but it was gone. Unnerved now, Kako sighed and turned her eyes back to the blackboard, not noticing the skies turning the dark gray one sees after an explosion. Yet- just how long would it really take her to notice?

"Dear lord. Someone save us," Harume muttered as he, Miyabi, Mamoru, and Kako were greeted at the door by confetti and a grinning Hikaru.

"Come in, come in!" Hikaru urged, dragging the four inside her house and slamming the door closed behind her. "I'm so glad you all made it!" she said as they gathered in the living room.

"You'd kill us if we hadn't," Mamoru mumbled.

Hikaru sent her a nasty glare. "What was that?"

"Nothing, nothing…"

Upstairs, a loud noise could be heard, and the vibrations from someone's stumbling feet shook the entire house. A muffled 'Shit!', although intended to be whispered, reached everyone's ears, and Genji finally came running down the stairs a few seconds later, beet red. "Oh, uh, hey, guys… Didn't realize you were here already. Heh."

"What's the 'heh' for?" Kako asked. She furrowed her brow. "You knew we were coming, you dork."

Genji smiled, rustled her hair, and then bent down and kissed her forehead. "Yes, and I couldn't wait to see you."

"A-_HEM_," Harume coughed. "Isn't this supposed to be a birthday party?"

Hikaru and Genji half-heartedly smiled together. "Yep!" they said in unison.

"Then can we _please_ celebrate?"

Satisfied, Harume patted his stomach. "_That_ was a party."

"What are you talking about?" Miyabi whined. "All you did was devour the food!!"

"But it was so good… Besides, who're _you_ to complain, Yabi-chan, who drank all of the soda?" At this, Miyabi blushed, too embarrassed to spout anything back at him. "Yeah, thought so."

Hikaru snickered. "I can't believe how Genji just conked out on the couch. It must be tiring to get all of those detentions, you know."

Kako frowned. "That idiot… Of course, I guess it's not that bad when you consider he's too smart for his own good."

They nodded in silent agreement. It was late at night and Hikaru was seeing each of her friends home after one heck of a birthday party. Genji was tucked in on the couch back at home, so it was just Hikaru and the others. Suddenly, a can was kicked out into the street behind them. They all turned around, scared. When nothing showed up, everyone in the group was unsure if they should be relieved or even more frightened than they already were.

Hikaru straightened up and took one step forward when a voice stated behind her: "I wouldn't go that way if I were you." The hazel-haired genius wheeled around on her heel and locked eyes with the mysterious stranger known as Artemis. The air around Hikaru suddenly felt icy, and her breath was visible as she muttered, "…Artemis!!"

Before the others could question Hikaru about the stranger and how she knew her, four figures shot up from the ground, cloaked in the blackness of night. For a moment, everyone was caught in a split-second time freeze. Just as quickly, the girls all pulled out their brooches and transformed, and Harume dealt a lethal round-house kick to one of the creatures, hurtling it into several trashcans nearby. "Hurry up and attack already…!" the bleach-blonde uttered.

"Styx Hatefulness Epithet!!" Sailor Styx screamed. Acidic crimson waters pierced the creature in front of her, but it had no effect!

Shocked, the senshi in the blood red sailor fuku looked all around her, and the stunned looked she wore was mirrored back to her on her friends' faces.

_Crap…_, Sailor Cocytus thought. _Their attacks aren't working and I don't __have__ any attacks!_

Harume saw that the girls and the monsters were equally matched –but what could he do? Sure, he knew some martial arts, but if the senshi couldn't hurt them, why should expect to? Frustration gathered inside Haru as it turned into desperation. _I want to do something, __anything__…but I can't!!_

_Yes, you can. Rather, __I __can._

Haru blinked. Who was this? He scanned the area; it was just him, the girls, and the creatures. No one else was around.

_I'm inside you, Harume,_ the voice continued. _I always have been._

_Who-who are you?_ Harume asked it mentally.

_That's not important right now. Do you wish to help?_

_But-_

_Do you wish to help? Answer me quickly, man! We haven't enough time._

Harume sighed. _…Yes,_ he replied at last.

_Good. I'll take it from here._

Just as Harume was going to interrogate the voice some more, he felt a heat developing in his chest. Meekly, he placed his hand over his heart. "It's…hot!!"

_Of course it is. Release me and sleep for a while, Harume._

Styx turned around to see Haru faint. Startled by the sight, she rushed to him, but his eyes flew open to reveal blood red eyes that were _not_ his at all. "H-Harume…?" she squeaked.

Harume was covered in darkness at once and Styx thought him missing for a minute, but when a long, blonde ponytail-ed figure emerged from nowhere with a scythe much like a harvester's, she knew it was not Harume at all. The character lifted the scythe above his head with on hand twirled it once. Then, when he at last grasped it, he smiled. "Ah, how goods it feels to be in control again," he said; this man's voice was really just a deeper version of Harume's.

"Who…are you?" Styx asked.

The man raised his scythe above his head again and slashed the creatures behind him and one in front of him. He turned to the last one and sighed. "There aren't any formidable foes anymore… How sad."

The last monster was right in front of the man with the scythe. It was trembling, but it had a right to. Who wouldn't be scared if someone had decimated their cohorts in the blink of an eye? It smiled, though, revealing yellowed fangs dripping with gooey saliva. It knew it was going to die –and it did. In one quick movement, it was decapitated, and blood spurted from where its head had been resting on its shoulders.

Everyone was quiet once again as a dim light left the monster and its body faded away. The light floated about in front of the man for a second, then it disappeared below ground.

Finally, Styx stepped forward and touched the man's arm. "H-Haru…?"

He turned to her. "Harume is asleep now."

"What…?" Styx blinked and changed back into Miyabi. "But…you're right in front of me. I see you and you're anything _but_ asleep."

"I am not Harume."

"But, how can't you be?" Miyabi blinked back tears. "Don't you remember me? It's your Miyabi. Yabi-chan."

The male held his gaze still as he locked eyes with her, and Miyabi could see there was hurt in them, but she didn't know why. "I don't know a Miyabi." Coldly, he turned away from her and walked into the shadows away from the others, but she followed, leaving the others behind, as well.

_This bites,_ the man thought. _To be in control of this body at last and already…_ He was torn from his thoughts as the girl who named herself Miyabi shoved him against the brick wall and crushed her mouth over his, wiggling her tongue into his mouth and kissing him hard. After a minute, she pulled back and he caught his breath.

"Are you saying you don't even remember that?" she murmured.

His red eyes went wide as she so resembled… _…her,_ he thought, but he pushed his feelings and memories aside. "I am not Harume. My name is Charon and I am simply here to fix this catastrophe, or, instead, help carry it out, really."

"'Charon'…?" Miyabi's eyes glazed over as Charon stood up straight. A long, blonde ponytail…silver pants and a black, long-sleeved tunic surrounded by a gray belt…a towering scythe…and a skull on the back of his tunic. It was topped by piercing red eyes, and Miyabi believed that he was Charon.


	10. Charon

Pandora's Senshi

**Pandora's Senshi**

A Sailor Moon Spin-off Fanfiction

By mew-tsubaki

Note: Ha-HA! This time, I have copyright power over these characters because their MY OWN! (Woo-hoo!) Anyway, I want to give some credit to Naoko Takeuchi-sensei, though, because I used the original names she had planned for the Sailor Moon characters (Sorano Hikaru, Yoruno Miyabi, Chino Mamoru, and Artemis; only Amano is hers- I came up with Kako), and the original scouts (Moon through Saturn) are hers. By the way, I know that the senshi names (Phlegethon, Cocytus, Styx, Acheron, and Lethe) come from rivers in Hades (I read it somewhere) and have nothing to do with Pandora's Box, but read on to discover what they're really about. - Don't forget: READ, REVIEW, AND ENJOY!! P.S.- the Artemis in this fanfic isn't the same as the cat-turned-human Artemis from the original series. She's someone completely different. Also, the other senshi will not be making anymore appearances. It's original from here on out.

-- -3

Chapter Ten: Charon

The male turned his attention away from Miyabi and focused his thoughts. _Harume,_ he called telepathically. _Hey, idiot, wake up._

_…umn, huh? What?_

_You can have your body back now, so wake up._

_Wait –who are you?_

_My name is Charon, and my soul has been locked inside of you for a while… But that's not the point. You need to take over and let Miyabi know you're all right._

Harume made a low noise that was something like a growl. _What did you do?_

_I saved their lives, as it is my duty._ Charon blocked his thoughts from Harume for a moment. _Maybe I should be popping in more often…_ Still blocking, he recalled the scene of Miyabi's kiss and the feel off her tongue in his mouth. _She's as feisty as ever._ Finally, Charon went to sleep and the body was enveloped in darkness again, but it was Harume who emerged this time.

The rocker teen fell to his knees, huffing. _What was that all about?_ he thought. _Why did he say he saved their lives? How come I don't remember anything?_

"H-Haru…?"

Harume turned around and saw Miyabi's stricken face. When he gently caressed her right cheek, she winced and flung her arms around him and squeezed as tight as she could. "Miyabi, you've got to let me go at some point," he said after several minutes.

She shook her head. "No, no, no, no, no!! I'm not gonna let go!"

Carefully, he stroked her dark, maroon hair. _Should I…?_ He gulped and tensed his muscles. "Y-Yabi-chan…what happened?"

Miyabi pushed him back as quickly as she had held onto him. "Y-You became Charon. He saved o-our lives. He appeared out of the blue with a scythe and I thought he was you and he said he didn't know me and I tried to get him to remember me and I-" Miyabi caught herself as she realized with horror what she had done. Charon had sauntered into the shadows, she had chased after him, and…she wouldn't believe he wasn't Harume. She had shoved him against a wall and frenched him. Not only had she kissed another man, but Miyabi felt that deep down, somewhere in her heart, she had enjoyed it. Nervously, she gulped and finished: "I knew it wasn't you when I got a good look at him." That part was true, but she had guiltily edited out the kiss. Sh-should she have really done that?

Harume faintly smiled. "I see…" Relief washed over him as he grasped Miyabi's hand. "Let's go home, Yabi-chan."

"Yes…" Harume didn't realize at all what Miyabi was holding back from him, but, worse yet, he didn't realize how Miyabi had turned as stiff as a statue. _It'll be all right,_ a voice sounded in Miyabi's head. _Everything will be all right as long as he never knows._

_But what if it happens again?_ a different voice interjected. _What if it escalates to something more? And what if you like it?_

-- -3

"Genji! Genji!!"

The twin snapped out of his reverie. "Eh? Huh? What?"

Kako looked concerned. "This is the fourth time you've ignored me today. Is something wrong?"

"N-no, of course not." Genji backed up his fake smile with a quick tussle of Kako's hair, and she seemed a little relieved by that.

The pink-haired shrimp halfheartedly smiled to herself, but she was unnerved. _It's like his mind is somewhere else_, she thought sullenly. _Maybe I've been too clingy?_

"You're fine, Kako," Genji mumbled.

Kako looked at him, shocked. Had he heard her thoughts?! No, that couldn't have been it. But…if his sister had powers, wouldn't it make sense for her twin brother to have powers, as well?

_No way,_ Kako thought. _I'm just thinking too much about it. It's not good to jump to conclusions._

_And yet, I wish I could read __his__ mind right now…_

-- -3

_Just what is it that's going on here?_ Artemis thought as she strolled down the street. _How do I get my other powers? And who was that man last night?_ She recalled him helping the senshi. _Maybe he knows the answer to some of these questions…_ Determined to talk to the male now, Artemis sped up, almost running down the street. After a minute, though, she came to a screeching halt. _But where is he?_

Even more perplexed now than she was before, Artemis sped up again. _I don't even know what his name is and-_

_**SMACK!**_

"Oof!"

Artemis landed on her rear hard. _That stings!_ The silver-haired girl winced as she sat up, wondering what she had run into. Yet, it wasn't a case of _what_ she had run into, but a case of _whom_ she had run into.

She looked up to see a male with short, slightly wavy brown hair and rectangular glasses. He had on a vibrant blue zip-up, short-sleeved shirt and dark-wash denim jeans. A pair of dark brown shoes and a blue messenger bag completed his outfit. But Artemis wasn't really looking at what he was wearing –no, she was staring at the stranger, who was staring right back at her.

"Um…sorry about that," Artemis murmured. "I guess I wasn't looking where I was going."

The stranger offered her a hand up. "It's partly my fault, too. I had my nose stuck in my book."

Artemis looked down at her feet and picked up his book. "'The Heart and Its Dissection'…?" She blinked. "A medical text?"

The male shyly smiled. "It's pretty much the only thing you read when you're pre-med."

Artemis nodded, but she found a magazine stuck inside the book when she tried to close it. "'Jazz Modern Classical'?" She saw the embarrassed look on his face, and she quickly turned red, too. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to go through your stuff!" Artemis handed the book and magazine back to the stranger. After an awkward minute, she added: "M-My name's Artemis."

He, too, felt uneasy and spluttered: "Amamiya Soichiro." Soichiro exhaled and the sweat wasn't pouring off of him anymore, but he still seemed a little tense.

Feeling tense and uneasy herself, Artemis smiled. "Once again, sorry, Amamiya-san." She moved away and he stopped her.

"It's my fault, A-" He caught himself. What was her last name again?

As if reading his thoughts, Artemis stated: "I just go by Artemis. It's okay." This time she moved away, but he didn't stop her.

"It's Soichiro, not Amamiya-san," he commented.

She looked over her shoulder, but he had already melted into the crowd. _Huh,_ she thought. _There's a different air about him. So…i…chi…ro…_

-- -3

Just a few minutes away in the bookstore, Soichiro had his nose stuck in a music book. Yet…he found he had lost focus and couldn't concentrate anymore. Sighing, he put the book back on its shelf and walked down the aisle, not entirely aware of his surroundings. A vivid picture was painting in his mind as the name spilled from his lips: "A…ru…tei…mi…su…"

His heart skipped a beat. She had a different air about her, a refreshing one. Maybe…just maybe…they would meet again.

He sure hoped so.

-- -3

"Urm…" The taupe-haired girl grimaced at the cake she had pulled out of the oven. Well, it would've been a cake if it wasn't burned to a crisp. Hell, she wasn't even sure if she knew it had ever _been_ a cake in its entire –but short- lifetime. Death had come early to it, as soon as Mamoru had touched the mix.

"Dammit!" she cursed, biting her thumbnail and tossing her apron on the kitchen counter. She sulked. "I was hoping to greet Takeyuki at the door with his favorite food, but…" Mamoru's jade eyes fell upon the cake. "Why can't I cook?!"

The girl sadly turned away from the mess and collapsed in a heap on the couch. _This is no good,_ Mamoru thought. _I'll never be a suitable wife if I can't do simple things._ She pouted and peered at the door over the armrest of the couch. _I really do want to be his wife someday…_

_**CLINK.**_

Mamoru blinked and glanced down at the cushion. Like a hatchling, light reflected back in an innocent manner off her jade brooch, beaming up at her with curiosity. Almost instinctively, her hand crept forward and picked up the item. The shines in her eyes reflected the ones on the brooch, and she gazed at it for a long time, filled with wonder. Only sudden sounds outside the apartment door made her jump and hurriedly conceal it. When she realized how foolish she had been and recalled that Takeyuki would not be home until later, she withdrew her brooch from her pocket. Of course, Takeyuki would eventually come home …

Doubt put a stopper in her throat. It was so hard, having to hide it from him all the time… _Maybe I should just tell him,_ Mamoru thought. She uneasily chuckled. _Oh, yeah. Like he'd __really__ believe me when I say that I'm here to save the world by destroying it. Crap._ Mamoru sat up and rubbed her eyes. _My power's tiring me out. Maybe I'll go rest for a while…_

She flopped on her bed after stowing her brooch in her bottom drawer, underneath her clothes. Peace crept over her as sleep beckoned. Soon she was sound asleep and wouldn't be woken by anything –including the rustling in her drawer.

At first, it was a low, muffled sound, like that of a mouse skittering about. Soon, though, whatever was creating the noise was strong enough to shake the whole chest. The furnishing shook and rattled violently until –it stopped. The bottom drawer slid open as if an invisible hand was moving it, and out came a light as small as a seed bead. It was yellow-green first, but then it gradated into a fierce yellow, eventually simmering into a summer orange. Its light enveloped the whole room, but Mamoru didn't stir.

The light darted around the room and glanced about. "Wait a second," it mumbled, "where's my body?" It disappeared into the drawer and made a clucking sound. "No wonder. Of course they encased my soul separately from my body. But…where're Cocytus and Nora and the others?" The light sighed. "Hopefully I'll be released soon."

Mamoru rolled over on her side. The light, scared, hurriedly dove into the drawer. When it realized she was still out cold, it exhaled a breath of relief. "I'll just go back for now." It moved under the cloths and faded into Mamoru's brooch. And all was quiet.

-- -3

She raised her hand to her mouth as she yawned. "Oh, man…," Hikaru mumbled. "I can't believe I stayed up so late last night…!" While, yes, it had been a late night, the hazel-haired genius had to admit she had fun playing Soul Calibur 3 on Genji's PS2. Oh, she could kick his butt just like that! Hikaru smiled contentedly. _I'm glad I found some free time,_ she thought as she gazed at the clear blue sky overhead. _With exams and the monsters…_ Hikaru sighed. _I feel like I don't have a life anymore._ The genius froze to the ground.

_Did I even have one before?_

The thought swirled around in her head, and Hikaru felt like she was going to gag on it. _No…,_ she thought, her eyes filled with tears. _Before, I was by myself, studying all the time and helping those who would __do__ their work. Even now, __with__ friends, we're still risking our lives every time we fight. Of course it leaves no time for a real social life…_

"Hikaru? Is that you?"

The hazel-haired genius turned around and saw Artemis standing behind her. Her eyes lit up. "Artemis!"

Artemis smiled. "Daydreaming, were you?"

"Yeah, I guess so." There was an awkward pause before Hikaru spoke up again. "So, um…did you need anything? I'm on my way to school, though, so I don't have a lot of time."

"Oh! Uh, well…do you think I could come over later? I kinda wanted some advice on something…" From the way Artemis's eyes drooped and how she hung her head, Hikaru guessed it was something personal. Judging by her body language, Hikaru articulated: "Something guy related?"

Artemis looked up, red all over. "I-It's just-" she sighed and averted her gaze from Hikaru. "I met him a few days ago. I ran into him again today and we started talking. Then he invited me to go out to breakfast. I know it's actually my first date, but I don't know what to do because neither of us said it was a date, so-" Artemis stopped mid-sentence. "You're not laughing," she observed.

Hikaru blinked. "No. Why? Should I be?"

"Well…"

"It's okay. You have a serious problem and came to me for help, so I won't laugh. Why don't you come over around four?"

Artemis's mood visibly brightened. "Thank you so much! I won't be late, I promise!" As the silver-haired girl's silhouette disappeared down the road, Hikaru turned around and continued her walk to school.

A pair of lovebirds flew above her, singing their happy little duet. They came to rest on a tree branch on a nearby tree, cuddling each other affectionately. Hikaru faintly smiled. _Everyone is in love but me…_ "Crap! Isn't Kako coming over today?"

-- -3

"No way."

"But-"

"No, already!"

"Come on. I'm sure you'll win. Please!! I wanna know a celebrity!"

Mamoru finally stood up and glared. "I'm not going to enter that stupid contest!"

Miyabi, Harume, Hikaru, and Genji exchanged nervous glances. Finally, it was Hikaru who spoke up. "Look, it's just a contest. It wouldn't hurt to enter."

"I don't care!" Mamoru's chest was heaving; she couldn't believe how infuriated she was right now. "Look," she croaked, her voice raspy as she was shaking with anger, "I've entered writing contests in the past. Each time I've been shot down. I'm not going to enter a contest which is going to be judged by my role model. So just lay off already!!'

Everyone was silenced by Mamoru's sudden outburst. Mamoru deeply inhaled and was about to close her eyes when she saw the twins exchange a guilty look. She wasn't going to let that escape.

"Hikaru, Genji –what did you do?"

Genji reddened and let out a clumsy whistle. "Oh, honestly, it's nothing…"

"_It_ is obviously something."

"You moron," Hikaru called Genji as she pinched his arm.

Mamoru raised an eyebrow. "Where's Kako, Genji? It's not like her to miss lunch with us, and I saw her in passing in the halls, so I know she's here." When the group remained silent, dread settled into Mamoru's stomach. "Guys, what's going-"

At that moment, the door to the roof flew open, and Kako stood there at its opening –panting– but with a smile on her face. "It passed! First round and everything, and now we just have to go to the finals-!" The pink-haired shrimp stopped when she realized Mamoru was staring at her and that the others looked utterly chagrined. "Oh, crap."

Realization dawned on Mamoru's face. Slowly, she turned back to the other four. Her eyes especially bore into the twins' own. "No wonder you were all so insistent on me entering." Mamoru stuck her face in Hikaru's as her voice rose with each word: "You guys had already ENTERED SOMETHING OF MINE!!"

Hikaru closed her eyes, no hint of remorse. "By now, we've each read _something_ you've written, whether from class or your own stuff at home. Be happy. You made it to the last round. You're probably going to be the next Namajima Ayu." And with that, she slurped the rest of her spicy ramen noodles down.

Blushing, Mamoru had no defense. She sat down, but couldn't finish her lunch. _ARGHHH!! How could these nitwits have done this?!_

-- -3

Hikaru was only at home for about twenty minutes when the bell rang. "Coming!" she called, and she opened the front door to let Artemis in. "Hey, Artemis."

But Artemis looked troubled.

Hikaru, picking up on it, gently smiled. "Do you want anything?" she offered.

"Mmn," Artemis mumbled, and Hikaru went into the kitchen to grab a couple of snacks since the silver-haired girl was indecisive.

When Hikaru came back, Artemis was sitting on the couch with her knees pulled up to her chest, fidgeting with her locket. She looked like she might break if Hikaru tried to touch her. "So," Hikaru began, "is it more than just Mr. Mysterious?"

As if she had just jumped back into the present, Artemis' head shot up and she blinked; her cheeks turned rosy. "I'm so sorry! I didn't realize-" She sighed. "I've just been thinking about the situation with my powers –or rather, power."

"And…?"

Artemis blushed. "And 'Mr. Mysterious'," she finally admitted.

Hikaru perked up a bit. "Tell me. What's his name? Is cute? Do you think he likes you? Do you like him? Where'd you meet? Yadda, yadda… Y'know, the usual stuff."

The silver-haired girl hid behind her knees. "His name's Amamiya Soichiro. I guess he's good-looking… I haven't thought about it much. I first bumped into him the end of last week, but there's something about him…" Artemis' gray eyes looked wistful for a beat and a half. "I don't know if he likes me; I don't know if _I_ like _him_, but –like I said –there's something about him." She paused and sighed, but not sadly. "It's like I'm pulled in."

Hikaru, who had sat like a school girl (author: oh, wait… She _is_ a school girl…heh) during Artemis' admission, wasn't sure what advice she had to give to her friend. Frazzled, she scratched her head. "Well…," she commented, "whatever you're feeling sounds pretty strong."

Artemis nodded. "When I pile that on top of what we have to do and the fact that I'm limited to one attack –it bothers me. I feel…helpless."

"I'm sorry I'm of no use here," Hikaru stated. "But it's kind of nice just to get it off your chest, isn't it?" She smiled and was pleased to see her grin returned. Hikaru was feeling better herself, in fact. "You know what this calls for?"

"What?"

"Karaoke!!" Hikaru stood and turned on the TV and karaoke machine in the living room. She was just taking CDs and lyrics out when the doorbell rang again, and she ran to get it. "Kako! You're here just in time for the party!!"

Artemis smiled. It had been a while –how long, she didn't know –but it had been a while since she had felt this comfortable around people. The silver-haired girl remembered when her life had begun almost a year ago. She had just woken up in an alley, dressed in nothing but a simple shift. In her hand had been the Cocytus brooch, and her locket had been around her neck. She had no idea where she was, but she knew that her name was Artemis. And that was it.

"Geh! Genji, too?! Kako, why couldn't you leave him at school?!" Hikaru whined.

Instinctively, Artemis' hand reached for her locker. She gazed at it. _Maybe this time,_ she thought. She turned it over in her hand before trying to pry it open, but it was no use; the locket still wouldn't budge. Artemis sighed and supposed the locket would open itself when the time was right. She picked her head up and smiled when Hikaru returned with Kako and Genji behind her.

Hikaru grinned mischievously. "Nothing like a little singing contest to loosen up the nerves, right, Artemis?"

Artemis smiled. "Sure!"

Genji put his head in his hands. "You don't know what you're getting into, Artemis-san! No one can ever beat Hika-chan!! And I'm her _twin_!!"

Kako chuckled as Hikaru began singing what the genius had said was one of her old favorites. "_Zutto soba ni ite, watashi mitsumete ite…_"

Hikaru's sweet, lilting voice calmed Artemis, and she wondered if she had heard Hikaru's voice somewhere before. _Of course I have,_ Artemis told herself as they applauded the genius and Genji took the microphone, _I've known Hikaru and the other senshi for a few weeks, Hikaru the longest out of all of them, so why __wouldn't__ I recognize her voice?_ But far off in her mind, Artemis heard another lovely melody, and it sounded similar to Hikaru's voice… Artemis shook her head; she was imagining things.

"Artemis! It's your turn!" Genji passed her the mike, and she took it.

"All right, then!"

-- -3

"Mamoru-chan, I think it's the perfect opportunity for you to show your stuff," Takeyuki said the next Sunday morning. "And besides –if you don't want to go, why all the fuss over your outfit? That's the sixth time you've changed this morning!"

"Well, I don't want to look inappropriate or anything…" Her voice trailed off as she eyed herself in the mirror. Since it was late spring and the weather was warming up, Mamoru (as of this minute) had chosen a burgundy, bell-sleeved blouse, light-weight black slacks, and black heels. "Oooh! I'm too over-dressed." She turned in the direction of her room. "I'm gonna get changed-"

"Oh, no, you aren't!" Takeyuki grabbed her shoulders and steered her towards the front door. "You're going to be late soon, and you'll have wasted this golden opportunity that your friends bestowed –if somewhat craftily –upon you." He locked eyes with her and bent to kiss her, then smiled. "You'll be fine, I promise. I know it, because you're wonderful, Mamoru." He gave her another quick smooch then passed her her purse. "Good luck, Mamo-chan!"

Pink, the taupe-haired girl left her apartment complex and walked to the train station, where the girls, Harume, and Genji had said they'd meet her. When she reached the platform, though, only Kako and the twins were there. "Where're Miyabi and Harume-kun?" Mamoru asked Kako as they boarded the bullet into the city.

Kako shook her head. "I tried Harume's house on my cell, but no one answered. My guess is that they're on their way." The shrimp sighed. "If you guys would all just let me do you a favor and get each of you a cell phone, then everything would be more convenient!"

Mamoru half-smiled. "Kako-chan, I know you want to, but we don't want you to feel like you're buying us or something."

"But I'm not! My dad's the chairman for the city board, so we're loaded!"

Mamoru shushed her when other passengers on the train raised their heads or looked at the four of them quizzically. "Try not to draw attention to the fact that you're the chairman's daughter, Kako-chan!"

But Kako merely grimaced. "Anyway, why would it be like I'm buying you guys? Wouldn't you guys have already dumped me if you just liked me because I'm rich? So can I _please_ get you cell phones? _Please_?!"

Mamoru and Hikaru sighed, and Genji rolled his eyes as her put his hand over Kako's mouth. "Once a pure-hearted shrimp, always a pure-hearted shrimp," he stated; Mamoru and Hikaru nodded.

Kako tried to pry his hand away. "Mfph…!!"

-- -3

**MEANWHILE… At the Hiruno residence…**

Harume woke up and rolled over, scrubbing the sand from his eyes. Sunlight filtered in through the closed drapes over his window, and he reached to open them to let more light in. Turning to his nightstand, he grabbed a hair tie and pulled back his bleached strands as his eyes adjusted to read his clock. Suddenly, his eyes flew open. _10:53 a.m.?! Shit!! We missed the train!_ Sighing, he ran his hand over his face, thinking. _If Yabi-chan's already dressed and I can change in a minute, we could probably run and catch the next bullet train into the city. We may be a few minutes late to the finals since they start at eleven o'clock, but we'll make it. First things first, though. Gotta see if Yabi's up._

The rocker teen stood and threw on a blue tee, exchanging his sleep pants for jeans and a belt with chains. He left his room in a mess, nearly tumbling on his way down the stairs. Harume stopped at the foot of the stairwell and listened. The TV was on in the kitchen.

"Oi, Yabi-chan!"

Miyabi turned her attention from the TV to Harume and grinned. "Ohayo, Harume."

Harume looked her up and down. Miyabi was still in her nightshirt, sitting at the kitchen table, watching the TV and picking at the ice cream she was eating for breakfast. He furrowed his brow; something was up.

He walked over to her and took the ice cream from her. "Hey! I was eating that!" Miyabi shut up when he turned the TV off.

"You shouldn't eat ice cream for breakfast, _baka_." Harume threw away what she had simply picked at and then stood before her. "Something's troubling you. You want to talk about it, or do I have to ask one of the girls?"

Miyabi didn't meet his eyes, and glared at the floor instead. "I'm fine." She looked at the kitchen clock. "If we don't hurry, we won't be able to make it to the final round of the competition." Miyabi moved to leave the room, but Harume grabbed her arm. "I need to change, Haru."

"Not until you talk to me." The look in Harume's ebony eyes was stern, so stern that it was pleading. "I feel like you haven't been talking to me, Miyabi. Did I do something?"

Miyabi saw that Harume was deeply hurt. "No, you didn't do anything, Harume."

"Was it Charon? I don't know what he does when he's in possession of my body, so he might think he can get off scot-free, but if he did something…"

The raven-haired mermaid considered how to answer her rocker boyfriend. It _had_ been Charon she was thinking of, but she simply wanted to question him. Miyabi shook the memory of her last encounter with Charon a few weeks ago. Of course, she meant the one with the kiss. Charon had helped out a few more times between that time and now, but he had always gone back to sleep before the senshi could talk to him. But Miyabi had caught him staring at her with an emotion like longing on his face when he had last helped them, and it made her uneasy, because she now knew why she had felt like someone had been watching her during their battles. Nothing was up with her, but something was definitely up with Charon.

"…Yabi-chan?" Harume prodded.

She closed her eyes and smiled, shaking her head. "No, Harume. I've –The girls and I," she amended, "have been wondering if Charon knows anything else behind our mission, but he seems to be avoiding talking to us."

Harume lightened up some. "Oh. Okay. Maybe I can cajole him into speaking to you now."

"Wait! Harume, I-!"

But Harume had already closed his eyes and was feeling around for the connection with Charon. _Hey, ass. Wake up and answer Miyabi's questions._

_And if I don't want to?_

_Tough luck. It'll be hard to search for another host body if you don't answer my girl's questions, don't you think?_

_"Host body"? _There was a sound like a snicker, and Harume sensed Charon was sneering at him. _How little you know, boy…_ Charon paused, smiling to himself. _All right, then. I'll speak with her. Are you going to force me back when you think my time's up, "Master" Harume?_ Again, Harume sensed Charon sneering.

_…No. I trust you'll want to sleep after the interrogation, so you'll be back soon._ Before Charon could say anything else, Harume's consciousness rested.

A black light enveloped what was Harume's body, and out stepped Charon. He met Miyabi's fierce gaze, unblinking. _This shall be fun._

-- -3

"_Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for coming to the 23__rd__ Annual New Young Talent Authors' Competition!! We shall now proceed with the judging of the final round._"

In the middle of the crowd, Kako, Hikaru, and Genji sat, excited. Mamoru was sitting in the front row with the other four finalists, so they couldn't see the expression on her face as the emcee explained the final round.

"_After much reading and critical judging of hundreds of thousands of entries, our three judges have chosen their favorites and will read their favorite excerpt aloud. Then each member of the audience shall have a chance to cast their vote for their favorite. We will break while the ballots are counted, and then gather again to announce prizes. Please join me in welcoming our judges!_"

The crowd erupted in applause for the three judges. One was a local city official whom Kako recognized, the second was some famous actor, and the last was Mamoru's idol: Namajima Ayu.

First, the city official stepped up and said a few words and then read his favorite excerpt. Applause followed. Then the actor stepped up and mentioned something about his excerpt being dramatic, and he read it. Again, more applause. Then Namajima Ayu stood at the microphone.

She waited for a dramatic pause, and then smiled. "I chose this entry's excerpt for its detail of the moment. It had just enough description for me to picture the scene, but my senses weren't overloaded, either. I am also proud to see that the entry's author is the same age as I was when I started out, just as she might."

Kako, Hikaru, and Genji sat on the edges of their seats as Namajima-san cleared her throat.

"'The hazy afternoon would've been welcoming any other day, but today was different. I could feel the heaviness in the air, and it coated my tongue and throat. The normally pristine turquoise of the sky had turned pewter, and the usually yellow-green grass reflected the dull color as celadon. The grass shifted, though, as he stepped across barefoot, clad in just his blue jeans. I, in my simple, pale peach summer dress, remained seated on the edge of the porch. Still, I didn't move, even when he bent and kissed me full on the lips. It tasted bittersweet, even more so because I knew it would be our last. He was leaving, and his decision to go felt like a betrayal. Traitors deserve nothing.'"

An audible silence swept over the audience. Kako was grinning ear-to-ear, while Hikaru's eyes grew to the size of saucers and Genji's jaw dropped. Suddenly, applause tore through the crowd, and the emcee came on to the stage to remind everyone to vote for their favorite. After Mamoru's friends all voted for her, they met up with the taupe-haired girl for the break.

Mamoru seemed speechless as Kako patted her on the back. "So far, you've knocked 'em all dead, yanki," the shrimp joked.

"It wouldn't surprise me if you won, Mamoru-san," Genji commented.

Hikaru smirked. "I have a feeling everything's gonna work out in the end."

-- -3

"You wanted to talk?"

Miyabi gulped. She hadn't thought things out this far. "Well, yes…" She averted her eyes elsewhere; what did she begin with?!

Charon misinterpreted her awkwardness. With a wave of his hand, his outfit turned back into what Harume had been wearing before, and his scythe disappeared. "Not as terrifying to talk to, eh?"

The girl reddened. "Oh, no…! That's not why I-!"

"One change, though." He snapped his fingers, and the blue tee turned black. He smiled. "Much better."

"I –We were wondering if you could tell us anything about what were supposed to do, or maybe anything about senshi of the past," Miyabi said.

"Hmm…" Charon raised an eyebrow. "What do I get out of this?"

Miyabi grimaced. _This little…!_ "You don't."

"Then what makes you think I'd feel inclined to part with any of that information?" He smirked, and leaned down so his nose nearly touched Miyabi's. "You aren't much of a bargain dealer, dear."

Her tongue felt like it was weighed down, and she couldn't speak. _Don't let him call the shots, Miyabi,_ she scolded herself. _Tough guys only like weak girls. Be strong and he'll back off._ With a little rebellious grin, Miyabi regained her confidence. She _did_ have control of the situation.

Charon faltered, and grimaced himself, but then the smirk returned. "Ah, you really have no plan at all, do you?"

"Just answer my ques-"

In the blink of an eye, Charon grabbed Miyabi's chin in one hand and wrapped his other arm around her waist, pulling her to him and crushing his lips over hers. The deep kiss shocked Miyabi and her senses were overlade with…_passion,_ she realized, panting as Charon pushed her back against the kitchen table. He lifted her up so she sat on it, and she shivered as his lips trailed tender kisses down her jaw and neck. Almost as quickly, Miyabi came to her senses.

_**WHAM!!**_

Charon stared at the floor, and a silent moment passed. Slowly, he raised a hand to the corner of his mouth and touched it, pulling his fingers away to stare at the blood she had drawn. "That's some right hook you have, Styx-chan." He locked eyes with her.

She reddened. "Look, just like you're different from Harume, I'm different from Styx. And you had no right to- to- Agh! What the hell is wrong with you?!"

"What's wrong with me?" Charon's brow drew downward, and he looked positively peeved. "Let me ask you something: When you transform, you think not about your friends as Phlegethon, Lethe, and Acheron but as their civilian counterparts that you have formed friendships with, am I wrong? And do you not think with the same mind you possess when you are Yoruno Miyabi?" He was smoldering now. "Yes, I have a different soul from your _beloved_ Harume, but your soul has and always will be Styx. You may have a different name, but you. Are. Styx."

"Th-then what happened to you?" Miyabi asked. She gulped and steadied herself. "Why are you in Harume's body?"

"Because." He pushed off from the table and closed his eyes. He sighed as he pulled the black ribbon from his hair, and his long blonde ponytail cascaded down his back, some strands escaping to fall over his shoulder; a few even brushed Miyabi's leg, and she willed herself not to visibly shiver. Charon held the ribbon out before him. "This is why."

Miyabi blinked. "A ribbon?"

Charon's red orange eyes darkened. "I received it from you centuries ago."

"_Centuries_?!"

He smiled. "Don't ask." Charon pulled his hair back and tied it up again, and Miyabi caught a glimpse of something that seemed like a scar underneath his shirt, but she didn't ask. "Anyway, it was a while ago, back when the powers of the five rivers of Hades still lay dormant in the bodies of water themselves. You girls lived with your river, since you were tied to it, just as you are now. You and I were lovers back then, too." When Miyabi gritted her teeth, Charon rolled his eyes. "Oh, don't get your panties in a bunch. It's the past.

"Anyway, being the guide across the river of Styx, I was always near you. But a war broke out, one that involved all of the planets, and the earth had to be reborn. Knowing that I might not see you again –even if for a long time –hurt me, but you reassured me that everything would be fine, and you took this ribbon from your dress and handed it to me." He covered his eyes with his hand; Miyabi sensed he would start crying at any minute. "Would you like to know what you said to me? With that sly grin on your face, you said, 'Charon, tie back your hair with it, that way I'm always with you. That and so I can see your poppy-colored eyes!'" Charon removed his hand and –to Miyabi's surprise –he was smiling. "That was your farewell before you and the other four Hadean senshi set the world to rights, and your bodies faded for it."

Charon stretched and opened the refrigerator, skimming over the food. Miyabi still sat on the kitchen table, her head reeling from his words. "So," she spoke, "what then?"

He didn't look at her when he answered, but kept his nose in the fridge instead. "We were promised that your souls would be reborn, and that it was inevitable that you would be summoned once more."

"But what if we just die again-?" Miyabi paused. "What do you mean, 'we were promised'?"

"Didn't it occur to you that maybe each river has a guide?"

He gave minute a second to catch up. "Then…the other guides were –_are_ my friends' lovers as well?!"

"Well," Charon began, scratching his chin, "some of them. Only a few of the rivers had a guide. You see, there are five rivers in Hades, followed by the four descending rounds of hell. And everything plays a part in the destruction." Finally, he closed the fridge. "Does that help answer anything?"

"I think I have only more questions now…" Miyabi hugged herself. So Hikaru's myth take on the girls' senshi past was right on the mark. It was eerie, and Miyabi felt chilled to the bone. So they _were_ supposed to destroy the world…

"If you still have questions, then keep asking." Charon smirked at her. "Unless, of course, you don't have the guts to learn anything else today."

Miyabi glared at him. "Like I asked before: Aren't we only going to die again?"

His eyes took on a distant look. "I think I may have found a loophole of sorts, so let me worry about that."

Flaring her nostrils, she continued. "Okay, then. A person can have someone else's soul and still be someone else, so here's another: Why are you so convinced that I'm the same Styx you were in love with?"

"People have a common misconception about what makes a soul," he shot back, returning her glare. "One's soul isn't just his essence; it's everything that makes him _himself_. Names will change because a person is given one each time he's born into this world."

"That doesn't make any sense!"

He rolled his eyes. "Then let me put it into simpleton terms: Picture a clay doll. It has no defining features, except for the few that let you determine it's human. But you don't even know if it's male or female. A person's soul/essence carries all the details to make that person what they are, looks _and _personality. Your soul was made at the beginning of time, and each time you're born, you enter a sort of shell, and your soul defines that shell as a raven-haired girl with big, mahogany eyes and a sense of justice that rivals her selflessness." Charon yawned. "Did you get it that time?"

"Eh-heh…kinda. But I get the gist of it, so now I see why might love me, since there's only ever been one Styx, right?"

"Right."

"Phew! I seemed to have grasped _something_ today." Miyabi hopped down and walked over to Charon. "I wonder, though… Why would you be in Harume's body if you weren't Harume?"

"That, I do not know."

The mermaid raised an eyebrow. "Uh-huh. Well, we'll figure that out in time."

_She's the same as always, without even knowing it, _Charon thought to himself, and his heart twinged. _Would it be wrong to make her mine again?_ He left the kitchen and headed for the front door, but he had to stop and sit on the couch in the living room. He clutched at his chest and gritted his teeth. _Ugh! What's happening?! My memories- My memories are-_

"Charon-kun?"

He looked up as Miyabi bent forward and peered at him. His face scrunched up in pain, though, as he huffed. _Something's caused a disruption in my memories!_ he figured. _But what?_ A warm hand on his head stopped the attacks, and his eyes widened.

"You're okay now, right?"

Charon looked up and met Miyabi's eyes, and she warmly smiled at him. He closed his eyes and faintly smiled himself as he wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his head on her abdomen, surprised she let him. _Maybe she's been forever mine to begin with…_

-- -3

"_And now, ladies and gentlemen, we shall announce the winner of the 23__rd__ Annual New Young Talent Authors' Competition!! Drum roll, please!_"

As the drum sounded off to one side of the stage, Kako and the twins leaned forward on their seat's edges, and Kako was sure she'd actually tip.

The emcee took an envelope from someone and slowly opened it. "_And the winner is…Iwari Shotoku, for his enthralling piece about a lazy detective who happens upon pivotal evidence for a big murder case!! Iwari-san, please ascend the stage to claim you prize!! And thanks goes to all who entered! We hope to see as many entries next year!!_"

Iwari Shotoku stepped onto the stage and the crowd applauded him as the emcee described the terms of the publishing contract he had won, and Iwari also accepted the first-place trophy. The whole time, though, Kako, Hikaru, and Genji were searching for Mamoru, who wasn't in the front row anymore.

Kako stood and left as politely as she could while the closing ceremony still commenced, and Hikaru and Genji followed suit. The trio looked around in the hotel lobby, but when Mamoru didn't show, they decided to split up.

"I'll go back to the exhibition hall," Genji said. "Hikaru can check the stairs, and, Kako, you go check the ladies' rooms-"

Hikaru pointed outside. "She's already halfway down the street!" The genius ran out of the hotel's revolving doors, and Kako and Genji stayed right on her tail. "Mamoru-chan!"

The taupe-haired girl's head picked up and she saw her friends. She stopped to let them catch up. Even though she wiped at her eyes, it was obvious that she had been crying. "I'm sorry I left you guys there," she mumbled. "I just had to get out of there."

"We were as shocked as you," Genji said. "I mean, with that delayed applause, we thought that you had stolen the crowd's breath, but I guess it was just force-" He stopped when Hikaru smacked him over the head.

"You really are an insensitive oaf, you know that?!"

Mamoru shook her head. "It's all right, Hikaru. I figured it had been forced applause, myself. I'm kind of used to losing these contests."

"Are you saying that you haven't won a contest yet?" a voice from behind the trio answered.

"N-N-N-Namajima Ayu-sensei!!" Mamoru shrieked.

Namajima smiled. "The one-and-only. But did I hear you right, that you've never won?"

Red, Mamoru let her eyes drift to the ground. "…Yes."

"Well, then those judges must have all been idiots, just like those idiots in the audience who didn't vote for you this morning."

"What?!" Mamoru picked her head up again, fast enough to get whiplash.

Namajima merely raised an eyebrow while still smiling. "Just because you didn't win a contest doesn't mean you weren't recognized. In fact, those morons at that 23rd Annual New Young Talent Authors' Competition can go shove it." She held her hand out to Mamoru. "I think you have the potential, talent, and will to make it as a writer. Both my agent and publishing company –on behalf of my praise of your work –are offering you a contract to be a full-time writer. You up for it, kiddo?"

Mamoru had no idea what to say, and her dropped jaw showed it. Blinking several times in rapid succession, Mamoru grasped her hand and they shook, sealing Mamoru's contract.

"I look forward to your debut," Namajima said after passing her card and her agent's to Mamoru. She turned to go.

"Wait!! I- I want to know… How could you guess all those things about me? You know, what you said about me having potential, talent, and the will to make it?"

Namajima-san had a gleam in her eye as she answered. "It's all there in black and white, Chino-san. You words spoke for themselves. Call the office tomorrow after you get home from school that way we can set up a meeting, okay?" After she gave the four a brief wave, Namajima Ayu headed back to the hotel.

Kako blinked. "Holy-

"-steaming-" Hikaru contributed.

"SHIT!" Genji concluded.

Mamoru couldn't believe it, either. What had felt like her biggest loss had just turned into her biggest win of all time.

-- -

"So…how long are you planning on staying there?" Miyabi asked after several minutes had passed.

Charon quickly turned away so she couldn't see his face, but she was pretty sure he was pink in the cheeks. He didn't say anything.

Miyabi inwardly sighed. _That's life._ "Charon-kun, can you get Harume for me? We were supposed to meet the others, but it's way past time," she said as she glanced at the clock above the bookcase. "I'm kinda hoping we could salvage our get-together…"

"Hmn." Jealous, Charon closed his eyes and reached out for the rocker teen's consciousness. _Boy. Wake up._ There was no response. Charon grimaced. _Harume-kun?_

_…Miyabi-chan. She…_ Harume's voice seemed to be fading in and out.

_Hey, what's with you? I'm back to switch places,_ Charon stated. _Don't you want to see Miyabi?_

Again, Harume's voice came and went. _…soon. I think I figured it out, but I'm not…_

Now Charon was agitated. _Not what? Come back or else I'll take charge. If you love her, then you don't want to see her taken by another man, correct?_

_…same person. I knew we…_ And then the fading stopped –along with Harume's voice.

_Harume-kun? Harume-kun!_ Charon threw his power around to try and find Harume, but it was no use. He couldn't sense him. Slowly, Charon opened his eyes.

"Later, Charon-kun," Miyabi said, smiling.

But he forlornly met her eyes, frowning.

Miyabi tapped her bare foot on the wood floor, waiting impatiently. "Okay… Where's Harume?"

"I don't know."

"How can you not know?! It's not like you have to go searching Fuji-san Mountain!!"

Charon's brow furrowed. "Something's wrong with our connection. I think he was trying to tell me something, but then his voice just died out." Quickly, his head snapped up. "I sense some of the shadow creatures, and they're heading towards Phlegethon, Lethe, and Acheron. They're on the hunt!"

Miyabi looked at him, then sped up the stairs to change into jeans and a t-shirt, taking two steps at a time. Just as quickly she came back downstairs with her brooch and saw that Charon was about to don his regular outfit. She held a hand up to him. "Uh-uh. You don't leave the house battle-ready, moron, you transform on the way." As she locked the front door behind them, she shook her head. "What would the neighbors think?"

-- -3

**SAME TIME (WELL, A FEW MINUTES AGO) IN A CITY CAFÉ**

Artemis looked at her reflection in her cup of tea. _I guess I shouldn't have hoped for much,_ she thought.

The waitress came over. "Miss, would you like the check?"

She sighed, giving up. "Yes, I'll take-"

"I'm sorry!!" a male voice said, huffing. "I'll pay for it!" Soichiro hastily pulled out his wallet and paid the waitress, who warily walked away. He turned to Artemis. "I'm sorry, Artemis-chan. I know I'm the one who set this up, but I got caught up with a thing with my parents, and _now_ look –I turned our breakfast date into your brunch. I'm so sorry. Do you think you can forgive me?"

Artemis blinked, overwhelmed at his gentlemanliness. "Uh, yes, all's forgiven." She motioned to him. "Why don't sit and breath for a minute?"

He gladly sat down. "Thank you." Soichiro removed his trademark messenger bag and slid into the booth across from Artemis. "I apologize. I've been so busy with my school stuff that my parents bugged to see me on my one day to myself."

"Oh, you should have said something. If you don't get any free time except for Sundays, then we could've met some other Sunday."

"Artemis-chan, I wanted to meet you today. What I schedule in my free time is my business, and today, I wanted to be here." He smiled, and Artemis felt her insides melt. The waitress came back, though, and politely asked them to vacate the table if they were already done. Once outside, Soichiro chuckled. "I'm not usually this oblivious, so you'll have to forgive me, Artemis-chan."

At that, Artemis tried to hold in her laughter, but found she couldn't. "Soichiro-kun, drop the '-chan' from my name. You make me sound like a little girl!"

Soichiro reddened. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"It's okay, so stop apologizing all the time!" Again, she kept laughing. _I don't remember a time when I laughed like this,_ she thought. _Even way back then…_ Artemis paused, and the smile fell from her face. _Way back then…_ Brief glimpses of memories fell into the line of sight of her mind's eye, and she was overcome by their force. Five the rivers. The other girls around her. Hikaru and her brother, Genji, running about with Artemis, laughing like they had all the time in the world. Four girls, each one protecting a river with the other girls. And in the middle of the descending rounds, frozen deep below Cocytus' frigid waters, a castle that housed a great demon… Artemis' head snapped up. "So there are four."

Soichiro blinked several times. "Uh, Artemis…? Is something the matter?"

Artemis looked at the med student, and her heart hurt, but she knew she'd have to figure out what that hurt was later. Not only were her memories coming back in bits and pieces, but she sensed that some of the shadow creatures were skulking about. _Probably to find the other senshi,_ she deducted. Even though it went against her heart's demands, Artemis grabbed Soichiro's hand and gripped it. "Look, I'm sorry, but I…have to go. It's something very urgent."

"Wait! Is there anything I can do?"

She thought of the battles the senshi had been through so far, and paled. "…no. I'm sorry."

"Not even for you?" The look in his eyes was indecipherable, but Artemis shook her head. She saw his shoulders droop a bit, but he took out a piece of paper and jotted down two numbers and an address down for her. "The first number's my cell, and the second's my apartment line. That's my address, and I'm usually there studying so…" Soichiro did his best to smile. "Let's go out again, okay? And for real, like to a nice restaurant or so."

Artemis smiled. "Yes, Soichiro-k-"

He shook his head. "Just 'Soichiro'."

She nodded, and left him in the middle of the street. She just hoped she made it in time.

-- -3

Hikaru stopped. "Mamoru, Kako, do you feel something odd?"

Ahead, Mamoru stopped and nodded. "The ground feels different."

Kako gripped Genji's arm. "The air's stopped moving. Almost like death itself is here."

In Kako's grasp, Genji squirmed. "Okay, what are you guys talking about?"

Remembering they had Genji with them, Kako falsely chuckled. "Oh, it's nothing, really! It just feels odd, you know? We should head home, though." _We've got to get Genji out of harm's way. Those shadow creatures might show up…_

"What shadow creatures?" Genji asked, getting irritated.

Kako was dumbfounded. "No one said anything!"

Genji glared at her. "Don't treat me like an idiot! I heard you clear as day! You said you need to get me out of harm's way!"

The shrimp shook her head. "No, I didn't say anything!! I _thought_ it!!"

Genji faltered. "What the-"

"Genji, Kako, look out!!" The couple didn't have time to finish their argument before Hikaru knocked them down as something big and black flew right over them, missing the genius girl by millimeters. The three cluttered to the ground just in time to see Mamoru duck as it swooped down for her.

When the creature missed Mamoru, it flew up and alighted on a nearby fenced. Its violet eyes roved up and down each of them, and its single black wing stretched before wrapping around its body. A screech tore through the air, and Kako was almost transfixed.

"That thing…" Kako licked her dry lips. "I saw that thing fall from the sky only a little while ago!!"

"You saw that thing before?!" Genji asked incredulously. "What the hell _is_ that thing?!"

"No time to explain!!" Mamoru yelled at him, and she raised her brooch into the air. "Phlegethon Rage Fulfillment!"

Hikaru cursed. "I guess there's no choice… Kako, you transform, too! Acheron Woefulness Fulfillment!"

As Hikaru suggested, Kako removed her brooch from her pocket, but Genji grabbed her arm. "Kako, what the hell is going on?"

She felt tears gather behind her eyes, but she fought them back. "There's another aspect of my personality, Genji." Kako raised the Lethe brooch high. "Lethe Forgetfulness Fulfillment!"

After each girl had changed into her sailor fuku, Phlegethon tried her Phlegethon Rage Embodiment attack, but it didn't work, and neither did Acheron's or Lethe's. The girls felt backed into a corner.

Acheron tsked. "Lethe! Take Genji home! Now!!"

Lethe didn't want to leave her comrades behind, but she listened to Acheron and went to Genji. She yanked on his arm. "Come on!! You need to get out of here!"

He pulled his arm free. "And so do you three!! What makes you think you can beat this monster?!"

"We've defeated ones like him before, so we have it under control, okay?! So just get your ass moving!!"

But before they could leave, Phlegethon's and Acheron's screams tore through the day, and Lethe and Genji looked back to see the beast had caught them. At the same time, shadow creatures were rising from the ground, seemingly pouring in from all directions. In no time at all, Lethe and Genji were completely surrounded.

"_Styx Hatefulness Epithet!_"

A few of the creatures to Genji and Lethe's right were destroyed, and they saw Sailor Styx and Charon appear. Both began hacking away, but they were soon, too, cornered.

"Shit!" Styx uttered. "Why aren't we winning like usual? Even you! You're like the hard ass of the group!" she said to Charon.

He grimaced. "Something tells me that wasn't much of a compliment…" His head turned. "Looks like the last of us has arrived."

"Amaranthine Wail!!" Cocytus' attack freed Styx and Charon, but the three still couldn't reach Lethe and Genji. "I'm sorry I couldn't have been here earlier, but my powers feel different tonight-" Her gaze found Acheron and Phlegethon in the beast's trap. "Hikaru!!" she shouted. And then she felt it. She had been right. A power locked deep inside her released itself and she focused that energy into her hand, which she aimed at the beast. "Silver _Scream!!_"

The beast shrieked, and its hold on the two senshi was loosened enough for them to drop back down to the ground. Styx, Cocytus, and Charon ran over to them. Phlegethon looked at the couple, though. "Uh, guys…!"

The others turned to see Lethe doing her best to uphold a protective barrier around Genji and herself, but they could tell her power was weakening. Acheron turned to the others. "Well?! _Do_ something!! That's my brother!!"

_"That's my brother!!"_ rang in Cocytus' head, but she shook herself and aimed another Silver Scream in their general direction. The beast intercepted it, though, and the attack didn't seem to hurt it this time. Cocytus cursed. Great. She had more power, but it was useless now. What next?!

Charon swung his scythe around, but some of the shadow creatures broke off from the main horde and began separating the others, trapping him and Styx. The one closest to him swiped at his stomach and he was flung back into a tree. Styx screeched, but turned her anger towards the monsters. "_ZAKKENNAYOU!!_"

A light poured from her brooch then, and floated in front of her. The shadow creatures drew back from it, and Styx watched as the light's blood red hue changed into orange and then flowed into a pure, canary yellow. A voice came from it, too. "It's that time again, huh?"

Styx gazed at it in awe. "What are you?"

The light buzzed right in front of her nose. "Will you free me, huh? Just say, 'Caina the Cryminle, you are pardoned.' Then I can take care of these beasties, huh?"

Since they were out of options, Styx was willing to go with anything. She cleared her throat. "Caina the Cryminle, you are pardoned."

A separate light flew from Cocytus' brooch and united with the one from Styx's, and the combination elongated to shape into a girl's ethereal silhouette. When the light faded, a small, pretty girl with long blonde hair and sharp eyes stood there, dressed in a kind of yellow and tan outfit that made her look like a ninja miko. Her tan boot heels clacked on the asphalt. "Let's have some fun, huh?"

Charon, sensing Caina's tremendous power, grabbed Styx by the waist and yanked her down, against her protests. "Watch out!!"

He was just in time as sweet little Caina dropped her arms to her sides and her hair flew up. "Filial Betrayal!" she screamed. Light poured from her, and the shadows were torn apart as if they had been burned. The beast was killed just as easily, as if it had been one of the lesser demons. Caina's power flowed into them and eradicated them, and each of the senshi and Charon could feel a taste of it. When the light stopped, everyone slowly rose.

Caina turned around and held her hand out to Styx. "Let's be friends, huh?" she said, sweetly smiling.

Styx gawked at her. "_HUH?!_"

-- -3

**FINALLY! At 36 pages, chapter 10 has been the longest one for this story so far, and I apologize for the wait, as I've been busy and have also been working on other fanfiction! I hope you will all be patient with me as I churn out more chapters at my snail's pace. Sorry! (In only 5 day, though, 12 pages became 36, soo…heh:) )**

**BTW: What Styx said was in Japanese (Zakkennayou!), and I think I spelled it correctly, but sorry if I didn't. I put it in Japanese to keep the story's rating where it is, but if you know what it means, then you'll know just how pissed she was.**

**Chapter 11 will be out soon, so stay tuned!**

**-mew-tsubaki :)**


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